Winter in Tokyo
by SuKiss
Summary: AU. What would have happened had Tsukushi never gone to Eitoku but everything else stayed the same? What's going to happen now that an adult Tsukushi and Tsukasa meet...
1. The party

Hope you guys like this, it's been cooking in head for some time now, but I only got the free time to write it out lately.

It's an AU of HYD: What would have happened had Tsukushi never gone to Eitoku? Tsukushi's parents never sent her there, so she had a normal high school life and is now 22 years old and in her senior year at university. The F4 never met her and Tsukasa has never fallen in love (try to figure out what else that means!). They're about 25 and working for their families respective companies. So what happens when Tsukasa and Tsukushi meet, this time as (supposedly) adults……..

Disclaimer: I so do not own Hana Yori Dango, but oh if I did……(evil thoughts! Evil thoughts! Stop!)

Tsukushi walked through the door held open for her….it was beautiful inside.

The ballroom had been decorated in a winter fairyland scheme with the predominant colors of silver and lavender. The many tabletops covering the room were covered with lavender and clear mesh tablecloths that had been embroidered in exquisite detail while the chairs where covered in white with a big lavender sash tied around. There were silver and crystal studded ornaments hanging from the ceiling almost touching the extravagant dark purple orchid and white lily centerpieces soaring from the tables.

Tsukushi looked around with huge eyes and then turned to her companion with a wordless "O" of her mouth.

Hiro laughed as he looked at her, "Extravagant isn't it?" He glanced around the room himself and then turned back towards her, "but it will sure impress the clients that are coming tonight and these days, it's all about impressions."

Tsukushi managed to regain her ability to speak, "This is amazing," she said with all sincerity gesturing in front of her. She turned warm eyes to Hiro and grabbed his hand, "Thank you so much for asking me," she said as she gave his hand an affectionate squeeze.

Hiro ducked his head in embarrassment, "No, thank you Tsukushi for coming with me. And you look just as amazing."

Tsukushi looked down at herself. She was wearing a sky blue satin pants outfit that she had found in a consignment store specifically for this occasion. The blouse was a tube top with dark blue sequins in swirling patterns at the top curving her breasts and at the bottom where it just met the top of the matching pants. She had long dangling white crystal earrings that she had borrowed going down to barely touch her shoulder.

Tsukushi looked up and raised an eyebrow, "Say that again after seeing the rest of the women here," she said with a naughty smirk.

Hiro laughed and taking her arm under his, he walked over to the table with their names on it. The table arrangements had been organized with each section of D. C. sitting together or near each other, so Hiro and Tsukushi were greeted warmly as they approached their seats.

"Hiro, this is your friend? You dawg, she's too pretty for you!" "Does she have any sisters?"

Tsukushi blushed as Hiro pulled out a chair for her. "Tsukushi these are the, and I use this term dubiously, men I work with,"

Hiro said gesturing around beginning with his right. "This is Matsura and her boyfriend" as the couple bowed their heads, "Higashi and his lovely though clearly blind wife" the table laughed as the wife in question colored prettily. "And that's Naoki and Tatsumi a couple who both work with us," Hiro ended with the two gentlemen directly next to Tsukushi responsible for the earlier catcalls.

"Hey, we're not a couple," said the man identified as Naoki.

"Oh yes," Hiro rolled his eyes, "they're not a couple yet, but give them time to be rejected by all the women in Japan and left by themselves."

The entire table laughed. Naoki waved away Hiro's remarks and turned to Tsukushi. "Makino-san correct? Hiro talks about you at work. You two met in University?"

Tsukushi nodded her head as Naoki placed a champagne flute in her hands. "Thank you," she said taking a sip. "Yes, when I was freshman, Hiro was a senior. I worked in the student library and Hiro finally found it as a senior after three years of searching for it."

Naoki laughed, "He never knew where it was before?"

Tsukushi giggled, "No and it was the funniest sight, he looked like he had just wandered into the land of the cream puffs. I had to show him where everything was, how to use the catalog system, everything." By this time, the whole table was cracking up at the story and Hiro himself looked on in reminiscence.

"Do you still work there?" Naoki asked Tsukushi. She shook her head, "No, I became an accounting major so I transferred to the school's billing office to get more experience."

Hiro this time, replaced her empty glass of champagne with a new one. "Actually, next month I leave from there for a 6 month internship right before graduation."

"Oh cool, do you know where?"

Tsukushi shook her head, "I know it will be here in Tokyo, that's about it."

Their conversation was interrupted by the waiters bringing dinner. The rest of the evening passed by for Tsukushi with hazy speed: the food was sumptuous, everyone at the table was great just enjoying a deserved night off and between them, Hiro and Naoki managed to keep her glass filled every time she went to look for it.

After the five course meal, with a magnificent decadent chocolate cake desert that had Tsukushi practically gibbering in bliss, dancing started under the glass-domed ceiling.

Several hours later….

Tsukushi waved her hand in her face in an attempt to cool down; she was basically dancing the night away with frequent stops for drinks. Tsukushi looked around for Hiro and saw him back at the table speaking with Matsuri's boyfriend and another man.

She had just finished a dance with Tatsumi and left him for an urgent bathroom break.

She giggled to herself, "What is it about alcohol that makes you want to go to the bathroom so much," she thought weaving slightly.

Wandering out through the side doors, she meandered down the hallway searching for the restroom and found a closed door to her left. "Maybe this is it," she thought and opened the door quietly.

Peeping her head around the door, she saw another bar, much smaller with lavishly appointed mahogany wood and significant array of top shelf bottles. It seemed to be completely empty with one lone man sitting two thirds of the way down the bar, but no on else, not even a bar tender insight; Tsukushi was set to leave when she heard a choked voice. Turning once more, she saw a woman standing before the man at the bar with what appeared to be a gift in her hands.

"Sir, I just….I just wanted to give you this," said the girl holding out the gift with both arms outstretched and a huge smile on her face. Tsukushi's heart twitched a bit at the sight, "Aww, how cute," she thought and was about to leave when the man's remark stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Get away from me. I don't accept shit like this."

Tsukushi almost choked on her own tongue, "Did he just say what I think he said?!"

Huge tears pooled in the other girl's eyes, "But Sir, it's just that I love you so much and-"

"I said get out of here! I don't want to be stalked by some dog in heat!" he roared loud enough to rattle glasses in front of him.

The girl jerked back in surprise and quickly ran off, present still in her hands. The man snorted and turned back towards his drink.

Tsukushi was completely astonished at what she had just witnessed; "How can this asshole get away with acting so miserably?" she thought in righteous anger marching into the room, "well he can't upset girls like that with me around."

Tsukushi, filled with 80 proof courage sauntered directly up to the oh-so arrogant jerk and thrust her finger in his face which had been about to finish his drink.

"How disgusting can you be?" she shouted at him as looked up and glared at her. She waved her hand in the direction the weeping girl had taken.

"She tried to give that to you from the sincerity in her heart. Why, I don't know," she said and proceeded to view him up and down with one eye squinted trying to determine what the unfortunate girl had exactly seen in him. "You have hair like an octopus, mean little eyes and an attitude straight from high school."

While she had been speaking, the man's face kept getting redder and redder until by the end of her speech he rivaled a boiled lobster. Tsukushi paused from her tirade so that the poor man could apologize. He didn't.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" he shouted back loud enough that Tsukushi's hair swayed with the force of it. "Do you know who I am?" he asked thrusting his chest out. Tsukushi placed her hands on her hips and stared back at him. "I'm the-" "No and I don't care," Tsukushi interrupted, "Because basically you suck."

She turned to leave, wondering why she was wasting her time with this loser and going off to find Hiro. "Wait you little-" the curly-haired man grabbed her arm in a vice-like grip. Tsukushi's eyes flashed dangerously; if there was one thing she hated it was a bully. "Don't touch me you, you…octopus-head," she shouted and kicked him in the shin. Hard.

The big man came down, releasing his hold on her arm. Tsukushi turned and practically lit out of that room.

Once the doors were safely closed behind her, and the man's howls of rage were muffled, Tsukushi ran her hands down her hair and clothing trying to quell her agitation, "Hmmph, what a nasty guy! I can't believe he gets away with that type of behavior."

Having calmed herself sufficiently, Tsukushi went off towards the general direction of the music.

Walking towards the ballroom, she passed a couple necking in a darkened corner under some potted palms.

"Oh Mimisaka-san," cried a woman's voice.

"Shh, Mrs. Higurashi," replied a deep voice.

"Mrs. Higurashi?" thought Tsukushi, "The 40 year-old married receptionist Mrs. Higurashi?!" Just as Tsukushi was debating to turn around for a better peek, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Tsukushi whirled around, her heart in her throat, eyes wide "How could he have recovered from that kick so fast?!"

"Hey, where did you go off to?" asked Hiro.

Tsukushi felt her heart slid back into position; she sighed deeply and grabbed Hiro's arm. "Sorry, I went to find the bathroom and went off from there."

Hiro placed his hand around her smaller one on his arm, "Be careful. Some of these guys are wolves out here," he said with a leer. She gave a small laugh, "You have no idea," she said under her breath as they walked down the carefully lit hallway to the entrance to the ballroom.

Copper gilt mirrors were lined up on alternating columns of cream stone with scones of light beside them throwing most of the walkway into shadow except for the light and noise spilling out from the entrance to the ballroom some feet ahead.

"Oh but I wanted to introduce you to my superior. I saw him come in sometime ago but I don't know where he went to," Hiro stated. Tsukushi wrinkled her nose at him, "Is this the guy you told me before who's really scary." Hiro nodded, "Yup. That's him. He can't stand inefficiency and loses his temper really quickly." Hiro gave a chuckle, "He's been through more secretaries than Kazuya through tissues."

Tsukushi gave a chuckle at the thought of Kazuya. "Which reminds me, I have to call him…" she stopped as a sudden thought hit her.

"Wait, this guy, your boss, he's really scary?" she asked urgently stopping Hiro and turning towards him in a froth of anxiety.

Hiro nodded again slightly confused as to her sudden interest, "Yeah, he's the head of our department currently but he's the big boss's son. He's working his way up to CEO soon. But nasty temper; there's no one close to him at work though I think all the girls are trying to hook up with him."

"Hiro, Hiro, no wait, what does he look like," Tsukushi gasped her mind still screaming at her.

As if on cue Tsukushi was to think later, Hiro looked up over his side and then looked back down to her. "Well, he's here so you can see for yourself." Hiro turned fully to the man approaching them, his steps muffled by the thick carpet.

It seemed to Tsukushi that the shadows in the hallway managed to coalesce behind the man as he stopped to where they stood a few feet in front of the ballroom.

"Doumyouji-san," Hiro bowed then turned to place his hand on Tsukushi's back and bring her forward.

"Tsukushi, I'd like you to meet my senior, Doumyouji Tsukasa. Doumyouji-san my very close friend Makino Tsukushi."

Tsukushi closed her eyes in despair. It would have to be that pig of a man, it would just have to be she thought. She opened one eye to face disaster. It was grinning right back at her with a face of pure evil and more than a touch of malice.

"Tsukushi hunh? Like the weed?" drawled the curly-haired pig, Tsukasa Doumyouji.

Hiro, apparently another pig, laughed. Tsukushi eyed him with disfavor.

"Yeah that is her name but she's nothing like it."She smiled at him thinking what an OK guy he was, trying to avoid thinking what a horrible fool she had made of herself. "Wait," thought Tsukushi, "it's not my fault he's a jerk! Why should I feel bad because he's got the manners of a brat!" This thought foremost in her mind, she turned to face him fully as if preparing for battle.

He was looking down at her as if from a great height; he was impeccably dressed in a black pinstriped 3 piece suit with his gray vest matching the gray squares on his maroon tie. There were evil lights dancing in his eyes.

"Cold mean eyes," Tsukushi thought girding herself up for battle. She then received the shock of her life when all of sudden a head of curly hair came straight into her field of vision.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he said and lifted his head up from his abrupt bow. Tsukushi and Tsukasa were on eye level with Tsukasa smirking straight into her face, "It's good to finally meet Hiro's girlfriend." Tsukushi stared directly into his eyes, her own widening as alarm bells rang in her head.

Hiro started, "Oh, Tsukushi's-"

A blast of loud music came from the direction of the ballroom; an older man with glasses peeped out and after catching sight of them, barreled towards them "Doumyouji-san, Doumyouji-san," he said breathlessly, "I've been looking for you. Its time for a few words," he stated while bowing so deeply Tsukushi wondered how any sound came out from him at all.

Tsukasa, who had straightened up, adjusted his tie and motioned for them to precede him into the ballroom.

"Thank you for the excellent party, Doumyouji-san. We've really enjoyed it," Hiro said earnestly. Tsukushi shook her head slightly, "until now," she thought.

"Oh did you? Amazingly enough, so did I. I had an interesting encounter just now. Makes me all warm inside just thinking of it," he said holding the door for the others.

The old man scampered off inside with Hiro walking behind him. Tsukushi tried to meld into Hiro's back. Unsuccessfully.

"In fact," he stated in a much lower voice, one pitched so that only Tsukushi could hear him, "we should do something like this again."

Tsukushi turned to look at him.

He was looking right at her.

"Soon."

The door closed with a thump after him.

* * *

Whoa. I kinda feel bad for Tsukushi. Let me know what you think and thanks for reading! 

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	2. We're going where!

A/N: Thanks to the lovely, lovely reviewers and I hope I didn't disappoint with this installment. I'm glad you're enjoying the story!

Disclaimer: I so don't own HYD or its marvelous characters (sad now, wailing actually).

* * *

Mimasaka Akira, lounging carelessly on a plush leather wingback armchair in a corner office at D. Corp, watched the pacing of his best friend with interest.

"So let me get this straight," he drawled, "this girl who you don't know came out of nowhere, yelled at you for your ungentlemanly behavior, kicked you," he paused as he saw Tsukasa snarl.

"Kicked you," Akira continued with smirk, "ran away, turned out to be the girlfriend of someone in your department," giving a meaningful look at the glass separating Tsukasa's office from the office floor beyond them, "and then fails to prostate herself in abject apologies after learning who you were."

He shook his head in apparent sadness, "Tsukasa, clearly your name fails to hold the same fear and agitation it once had," he looked at the growling Tsukasa with laughing eyes. "Some slip of a girl brought down the great Doumyouji, Terror of Eitoku, leader of the F4 with one kick," he finished chuckling with mirth.

Tsukasa paused in his pacing long enough to give the death glare to one of his closest friends. Akira didn't even notice and continued to laugh himself silly.

Tsukasa grunted and resumed his pacing, "Whatever. Who the hell does she think she is? Some common wench with dust for brains! She kicked me, me! and then goes off!" He stopped abruptly, facing the glass looking into the department beyond.

They were in Tsukasa's office on the 21st floor of Doumyouji Corp. in downtown Tokyo. While he was currently on the 21st floor, Tsukasa was gradually working up to the top floor, the 51st floor where the executive offices were-when he had first gone to work for his parents, he had been placed with the markets department on the 5th floor. From there he had worked himself up to the 10th floor after which he had been sent to America for training there.

Now, nine months after his return, he had reached the 21st floor with his first corner office with great big windows overlooking downtown Tokyo, plush carpeting and even a mini-bar. But it didn't matter to him; nothing mattered to him in the monotony of his life-he was just a tool of his parents, one reared as a sacrifice, he often thought in bitterness, to the great altar of Doumyouji Corp.

However, right now he was distracted from his own life by the memory of a pair of defiant brown eyes. He could still see that chick's fearless expression as she faced off with him, one of THE most dangerous men in all of Japan.

Tsukasa snorted in anger staring straight ahead, his hands in his pockets. His eyes followed Hiro as the younger man was talking to an associate about the current project they were both working on.

"And anyway, what are you going to do now? I mean you're a respected-" here Akira who had been walking up to Tskusas coughed, "or at least a feared businessman. From what you found out the honey is still in college," he said coming to stand beside Tsukasa.

"Yeah, but her boyfriend works here," Tsukasa growled never letting his eyes leave Hiro.

Akira's eyes widened and turned to follow his friend's gaze locked onto the unsuspecting Hiro, "Tsukasa, isn't that being petty. I mean firing her boyfriend?"

Tsukasa turned to glare at his friend, "Who said anything about firing him?! I want him here so I can get her," he turned back to look through the glass. "I'm going to get a hold of her and make her wish for her death."

Akira rolled his eyes, "Oh Lord, here goes a new age of the red tags! I thought we finally got you to put that behind you, especially after the Better Business Bureau chewed you out about using them!"

Tsukasa turned around to punch Akira but Akira, from long years of practice had safely dodged to beyond the range of Tsukasa's fist. "Do you want to die?! I told you never to bring that up! Freaking old men in the Bureau! It was a great way to increase productivity-they're lucky I didn't red tag them!"

Akira rolled his eyes again and shook his head, "Anyway," he said, moving to join Tsukasa again in front of the glass partition, "how are you going to get to this girl?"

Tsukasa had again put his hands in his pockets and was rocking on his heels as he half of his mouth curved in a mockery of a smile. "You know Akira, I remember you telling me that corporate sendaways really worked well in your company."

Akira ruffled his brow, "Sendaway?" His brow abruptly cleared, "Do you mean getaway? Corporate getaways?"

Tsukasa turned to glare at him while Akira wiped his face with his hand in deep regret at the amount of years he had spent with Tsukasa. "Whatever."

Tsukasa turned back and blew air onto the glass in front of him. He slowly withdrew his hand from his pocket and drew a circle into the condensation on the glass. Right around Hiro's head.

"I think I need to take my section on a trip-an extended trip to improve their managerial skills."

As Akira watched with wide eyes, he slowly drew a line through the circle, "and they must of course, bring their loved ones with them."

A couple of days later…

Tsukushi pushed back wayward strands of her hair behind her ears.

It was a gorgeous day outside, not as cold as it usually was with the sun shining and a gentle breeze wafting through the campus. She was walking back from work at the University's main office to her dorm near the center of campus. Her steps were brisk as she thought of the homework she needed to get through tonight before going to her second job.

Her parents, two of the most hopeless people on this earth, were currently living in a fishing village where they were as her father put it, trying to be "Fishing Kings." So far, it was failing rather spectacularly with no money being earned since her father kept getting seasick. This meant that she and her brother Susumu, who was in a boys hostel for his high school education, had to rely on their own earnings from part-time jobs for living expenses.

Tsukushi didn't mind it too much, at least she was on her own and finally getting to a position where she could help support her family; but she did worry about Susumu sometimes. It had to be tough on a boy in high school. At least in college, if she said her parents were fishermen it would bring on a round of cheers (and a round of beer) at the egalitarian and philosophical way of life her parents were living. Not so in high school she thought with a sigh.

"Moody on such a nice day? I bet I know what would cheer you up," called a bright voice near her.

Tsukushi looked up and broke into a smile, "Yuuki!" She ran up to her best friend who laughingly pushed her up the sidewalk. Yuuki was her best friend and a journalism major also in her final year at TU.

"Hey, where are we going?" asked Tsukushi being directed by her friend away from the direction of her dorm room.

"You look like you're thinking about your family again so I'm going to distract you."

Tsukushi turned to her friend, "With what? And how did you know I was thinking about my family?"

Yuuki laughed and led her up the sidewalk past the school bookstore to the ubiquitous Starbucks newly installed in the University student center. "Answer 1, a mocha frappaciono. Answer 2, what else do you worry about?" Yuuki said holding the door open for Tsukushi.

Tsukushi walked inside and smiled, "You think you know me so well." Yuuki coming in after her, nodded in mock seriousness, "Better than you know yourself." Tsukushi laughed but had to stop as she heard her phone ring, "Where is that thing?" she said looking through the pocket in her schoolbag.

"Oh," she found it and put it up to her ear. "Hello? Hiro? I'm with Yuuki in the Starbucks." Tsukushi heard Yuuki ordering for the both of them out one ear while she listened to Hiro with the other. "Whipped cream, don't forget the whipped cream. No, not that Starbucks. There's a new one they built in the student center. And an extra shot of mocha, I have to work tonight. No, not you silly. Yes, we'll wait for you. Ok, see you soon."

Tsukushi clicked her phone and turned to Yuuki. "Hiro said he's coming and for us to wait for him here." Yuuki looked at her with laughing eyes, "Us? Or you?"

Tsukushi smirked at her friend, "I said us. Don't try to insinuate more between Hiro and me. You know we're just friends."

Yuuki smiled as they grabbed the drinks that had been prepared to sit down at a small table. Yuuki turned to look at Tsukushi with wide eyes as Tsukushi had started take a sip of her drink, "Do you think this is about that incident you had with Hiro's boss?"

Tsukushi choked on her drink; spluttering, she said, "Kami I hope not! Even that bastard is not mean enough to take out his anger at me on poor Hiro," Tsukushi paused, "You think?" suddenly unsure of what that man could be capable of; she had never told Hiro what had happened between herself and his superior, hoping it would simply go away.

Just as Tsukushi was gearing herself up for a serious wallowing in anxiety, Hiro walked in the door.

"Ladies! Ugh, how can you drink cold things during winter," he said sitting down at the empty seat at their table while eying their drinks with disgust.

"You'd be surprised what we would do for mocha. Anyway, do you want anything? I can get you something," Tsukushi said a bit nervously, rising from her seat, about to get him a drink.

"No, no, sit," Hiro said, grabbing her hands and pulling her back down into her seat. "Actually there's some big news I need to tell you guys."

He leaned in grinning widely; the girls leaned in closer automatically to listen to his news. "My section at work was chosen to receive their managerial training at…get this," he leaned back pausing for effect, "a private resort in Fiji."

"Oooh!" the girls said in unison suitably impressed.

Hiro nodded his head in satisfaction at the reaction from his audience. "Yes, yes our section has had an impeccable showing of work and its with little surprise that the company should chose to reward us," he said pompously while the girls rolled their eyes.

He promptly spoiled the effect by chuckling with absolute glee, "And I heard there's boats there! Boats!"

"Oh Kami, Sailor Hiro here we come," Tsukushi said as Yuuki shook with suppressed laughter.

"Haa, haa, make fun. And here I was all set to ask you to come with me too," Hiro said pouting.

Tsukushi stopped grinning and sat up in her seat, "You were going to what?"

Yuuki looked just as surprised and turned a questioning face to Hiro.

Hiro smiled, "Well, we're allowed to bring one other person with us and since this trip coincides with your winter break, I thought it would cool if you wanted to come."

Tsukushi sat in stunned silence while her brain started furiously cranking, "What a nice offer. Mmm, Fiji….Wait! What about that jerk of a boss he has?"

Yuuki beat her to it, "But isn't your boss, well, not the nicest guy in the world."

Hiro laughed, "You heard about him too?" Yuuki nodded.

"Yeah, actually, a couple of people said they didn't want to go since he would be going as well. The office manager had the hardest time tracking people down for travel arrangements. I didn't even sign up even though I personally have nothing against Doumyouji-san, since there was no one else I knew going. Then today the office manager said that Doumyouji-san couldn't make it-he had other commitments planned. Whew, the poor man was drowned by the sea of people rushing him."

Tsukushi, whose brain had stopped functioning after hearing the words "Doumyouji" and "couldn't make it," had a dreamy expression on her face.

She had her chin in her hands with elbows on the table, "Mmm, Fiji…….."

* * *

Two nights later, while the rest of the office had departed, a light was still burning in the corner suite. Tsukasa examined the travel roster before him.

He could not believe the poor turnout the trip had until Akira mentioned that it would be wise to plant a rumor saying that he wasn't going. A lesser man would probably have been offended with the sudden reversal in attendance from his employees. Not so Tsukasa. He rubbed his hands in glee as his eyes caught a name towards the bottom of the list.

_Makino Tsukushi_.

"Excellent," he said aloud smiling evilly.

He picked up his phone and punched in some numbers. "Hello? Akira, get some sunblock. We're going to Fiji."

* * *

(shaking my head) That crazy Tsukasa-the things he does.

Some additional disclaimers: 1.I have no idea if there is a Tokyo University or not so I hope I did not offend anyone by its description and the Starbucks I put there (since they're taking over the rest of the world, why not Japan). 2.I have no idea how the Japenese school system works either and am basically exploiting it in favor of my story-sorry for the inaccuracies and gomen if I have offended anyone.

Hope you guys are enjoying this and thanks again for reading!


	3. A declaration of war

Disclaimer: I do not own HYD or you would see Tsukasa wrapped and under my tree for Christmas.

* * *

"Are you sure its ok that I come with you?" Tsukushi asked for what had to be the 10th time since she had agreed to accompany Hiro.

Hiro considered the question and then slowly nodded his head. "Yes, I think you're right. I was too hasty in asking you and I don't want you to come with me. In fact, I think you should go back right now."

Tsukushi gave a small chuckle as Hiro dramatically pointed towards the exit sign for her to leave. From the plane, which was currently flying them to the resort in Fiji.

Everything had been arranged by Hiro's office and a week later Tsukushi found herself with Hiro getting into a travel company's van filled with people from the section in which Hiro worked, completely eager to visit a tropical paradise.

Currently they were flying, Tsukushi's first flight, from Japan to the airport closest to the huge five star resort they would be staying at for the next four days.

"Ok, ok, I'll stop asking. It's really nice of you, thanks," Tsukushi said warmly placing her hand on his arm and squeezing it gently.

Hiro waved away her thanks, "Whatever. You're one of my closest friends and hey, pretty much everyone else HAS a life so…"

"Bastard!" Tsukushi said smiling, "Hey because I don't have plans for break or can't manage to hold onto a boyfriend doesn't mean I don't have a life!"

"Sure, sure, so speaks the virgin."

Tsukushi stuck her tongue out at him but then got distracted by his pointing out the window. As she turned to look, she gave a gasp of delight at the view of Japan below them. The rest of the trip Tsukushi was plastered to the window watching their progression in fascination.

After a smooth landing (for which Tsukushi was still terrified, shouting she would never get on a plane again) the group located their luggage and met the transportation vans that the resort had arranged for them. Tsukushi walked out into the sunshine and balmy air she gave a shiver of delight.

"This is going to be great," she thought enthusiastically, "I'll have a real break before starting that internship and graduating."

She followed Hiro and the others into the last van, which then set off for the resort located on a separate island quite some distance away from the main island and airport. From the energetic chatter in the van, Tsukushi discovered that the resort was on a private island with its own marina, docks and ships. There were a variety of amusements provided from paragliding to rock climbing, dance classes, spa treatments, pretty much anything one could imagine to do while on vacation.

"But I do have to say again how relieved I am Doumyouji-san is not going," said one of the older fellows sitting two rows in front of Tsukushi.

"Yeah," replied another man, "that man increases my blood pressure merely by being there. When he actually looks at me, forget it!" the man shuddered.

Tsukushi nodded her head in agreement, "Those cruel snake eyes of his," she thought in revulsion.

"Forget about it," said Naoki, the one who had sat next to her at the winter party, "the demon boss is not here and we are going to have a blast for the next couple of days! Hey, who knows all the words to YMCA?" This started up a chorus of impromptu karaoke that went on for the rest of the trip. They were on Eye of the Tiger when Tsukushi spotted the resort ahead of them.

"Oh Thank Kami," she said under her breath in relief; Hiro's section might have some of the best business minds in Doumyouji Corp but some of them could NOT hold a tune. Tsukushi was about to call out that she had spotted the resort when she became distracted by a speck ahead of them. She squinted to get a clearer view; by this time everyone else had noticed they had arrived and the singing stopped as they chattered excitedly about how they would spend the next few days.

"Tsukushi," Hiro began but Tsukushi shushed him still trying to make out the speck that had been getting larger as they neared the resort. From out of nowhere, she felt a curl of foreboding spiraling through her.

"It couldn't be," she whispered. The entire van suddenly went silent, even the radio died as they pulled into the magnificent entranceway to the resort. Tsukushi felt her eyes widen almost out of their sockets, "Oh GOD!"

Standing before them, smiling in triumphant glee was Doumyouji Tsukasa. He pointed at the van and she knew he was pointing to her. "Boo Yah!"

Some time later…

Tsukushi flopped down on the bed in complete disgust and exhaustion.

"How the hell had he managed to trick everyone," she thought. The mood in the van fell completely flat as the shocked office workers discovered their dreaded boss had somehow joined them on their island paradise. Naoki swallowed nervously and grabbed his things to run inside the hotel with everyone else following him. Which had left her with Hiro, the only person who had actually gone up to greet the egotistical jerk. Tsukushi could only stare as Hiro asked how Doumyouji had managed to make it to Fiji.

Tsukasa smirked and crossed his arms in front of his chest, "Well, I just rescheduled the conflicting meetings. I mean how could I possibly let my section go off to develop managerial skills without their section chief?"

He turned to look at Tsukushi with glinting eyes, "Ne, Makino-san?"

Hiro started, "Ah, you remember Tsukushi?" he said looking from Tsukasa to Tsukushi.

Tsukushi, alarmed, distracted Hiro by dumping her carry-on in his hands.

"Oh yeah. Some people stick in my mind. Almost like a physical flow," Tsukasa said.

Tsukushi, who had been trying to gather up all her things to run away from the scene as fast as possible, stopped to turn to him in confusion. "Flow? What flow?"

Tsukasa's face twisted as he yelled at her suddenly, "You know like a sudden hit. I mean like when you kick someone."

Tsukushi's face cleared, "Do you mean blow? A physical blow?!" She turned away and snorted under her breath, "Jackass."

"I heard that!" came a shout from behind her but she continued to walk to the entrance of the hotel.

Hiro, who had been unloading the rest of the luggage from the van looked up to see Tsukushi going inside the hotel with Tsukasa in hot pursuit of her. "Hey, wait for me!"

Tsukushi groaned and turned over onto her stomach, burying her face in the bedcovers.

"Are you Ok?" asked her roommate, Ayumi. Ayumi was Naoki's sister who had been invited to come as well; it had made more sense for the girls to be sharing a room and for Naoki and Hiro to share a room right next door to them.

Tsukushi looked up with a tight smile, "Fine. Might have gotten a little travel sick looking out the window." Straight into the face of that pig, she thought fuming that now she would have to spend the vacation avoiding him.

Ayumi's face cleared and she began chattering breathlessly about men, how beautiful the resort was, more men as she whisked around the room putting her clothes and products away. Tsukushi slithered off the bed and began to do the same when a phrase Ayumi kept repeating penetrated through the fog that she was in.

"F4? What is that, like a boy band?"

Ayumi turned around in the middle of putting her sandals down, "You've never heard of them before?" she asked aghast. "Tsukushi-chan where have you been?" Tsukushi shrugged-she didn't have the time to keep up with the comings and goings of celebrities, she barely had a handle on her life as it was.

"Well, the F4 is this really hot group of guys that are like the richest guys in back. Their parents own four of the top corporation in Japan right now and they've been friends since forever, pre-school at least. There's Nishikado Soujiro who is brutally hot and Hanazawa Rui who I heard is really kind of quiet but also very cute. They're both in America working for their companies."

Ayumi continued, clicking them off on her fingers, "then there's Mimisaka Akira and of course, Doumyouji Tsukasa."

Tsukushi turned to look at Ayumi. "Doumyouji Tsukasa, as in the same Doumyouji Tsukasa who is here? The one the boys work for?"

Ayumi nodded enthusiastically, "yes! He's the richest of all of them. Doumyouji Corp. is a-"

Tsukushi interrupted, "Yeah, I know about D. Corp." After all it was one of the most commonly used primary models on global corporations in her business classes. But she had never really connected Doumyouji Tsukasa and D. Corp as one and the same. "I mean he's a brat," she thought indignantly throwing clothes into the closet.

Ayumi continued with her chatter, "And now two of the F4 are here! Can you believe it? Not only do we get to see Doumyouji but we can also meet Mimisaka Akira." Ayumi sighed dreamily.

Tsukushi shook her head, "Poor delusional girl. That wormhead will make mincemeat of her," she thought but aloud she asked what F4 meant. "It means Flower Four because they're so beautiful and perfect like flowers. Isn't that great!"

Tsukushi rolled her eyes, "Oh Kami help me from this!"

* * *

The girls finished picking up their room and went to find Hiro and Naoki to go exploring around the hotel. They made their way back to the main lobby, which was stunning with a high dome for a ceiling, beautiful sea green colored walls and creamy stone floors.

The receptionist pointed them to the event coordinator set up specifically for their group who gave them a layout of the resort, an event schedule and a list of the different activities available at the resort.

The four bent their heads over the last item, intent on the different things they wanted to try out. Hiro was jumping with joy when he saw that the boats were available at any time to be used.

Tsukushi eyed him with some exasperation, irritable after the whole Tsukasa episode, "Baka, do you even know what to do on a boat?"

"Don't you know? I thought they taught that in high school," drawled a cool voice.

The group turned around to see Tsukasa walking towards them with another man, as tall and well built as Tsukasa with slightly longish wavy brown hair and light eyes. Both were dressed in khaki slacks with Tsukasa in a Hawaiian shirt and the other man in a polo shirt.

Tsukushi grimaced but refused to be put down, "They might have taught that in the schools you went to, but the rest of us had to make do with drivers ed."

Hiro, Naoki and Ayumi turned to look at her with big eyes wondering if she really had said that. The man next to Tsukasa covered up his quiet chuckle behind his hand while a muscle twitched in Tsukasa's jaw. "Yeah, well-" Tsukasa was interrupted by the smooth voice of the man next to him, "Tsukasa, introduce me."

Tsukasa glared at him, promising retribution later, but complied. "Akira meet Hiro, Naoki, they both work in the section at D. C." He stopped and raised a brow at Ayumi, who quickly stated who she was. "And this is Makino Tsukushi who's with Hiro. This is Mimisaka Akira."

Akira bowed to the group which they respectfully returned. "Nice to meet you all. I believe there's a late lunch prepared for the group. Shall we?"

The group followed the behind the other two in the direction of the outdoor terraces that Akira had indicated. Tsukushi was astonished, this gentleman was childhood friends with the beast?

They walked through a patio area that was decorated in all white with comfortable couches and a fireplace, towards a set of French doors open to the outside with a gentle breeze swaying the white chiffon curtains. "Sugoi," Tsukushi whispered stopping as they stepped outdoors.

The wooden terrace was arranged in multiple levels starting from where they were, layering downwards to end at the beach. From where they stood, they could see miles of white sand before ending to turquoise blue and green waters with the sun shining high in the sky.

Tsukushi couldn't help but smile, stretching her arms over her head. "Mmm," she breathed in the salty air. Closing her eyes, she felt some of her irritation evaporate in the face of such beauty.

"Don't get too relaxed," came a voice from her side. She opened one eye and eyed the owner of the voice with disfavor.

Tsukasa stood to one side of her with arms crossed over his chest, watching her closely.

She turned to face him, arms dropping to her sides, and asked "Seriously, what's wrong with you?"

He turned away from her and walked down the stairs to the first seating area. Akira and others had already gone down and were now seating themselves at a large table. The rest of the section from Doumyouji Corp. also seemed to be present, spread out down the various decks of the terrace.

Walking closely behind Tsukasa, Tsukushi lowered her voice and asked again, "What's wrong with you? I mean what exactly do you want from me? If you're looking for an apology-"

"An apology," Tsukasa interrupted, turning to face her. He snorted, "What the hell am I going to do with an apology? What I want is you broken before me, begging for your life," he growled menacingly at her.

"Tsukushi!" They both turned to see Hiro beckoning from his seat at a table in front of them. "Come on."

Tsukushi pasted a false smile on her face and sidestepped the hulk of dark evil next to her. "Coming."

She sat in the seat Akira thoughtfully held out for her next to him and drew herself up to the table. Animated chatter filled up the table as everyone excitedly began talking about what they wanted to do. Tsukushi focused on the conversation, blatantly ignoring the movements from her left side as Tsukasa pulled out the chair next to her and sat down.

"He's crazy," she thought furiously, placing a celery stalk in her mouth, "he is absolutely stark raving mad! He wants to see me 'broken before him!'"

She paused in the middle of chewing as Hiro broke into her thoughts, giving her a small serving dish of blue cheese. She looked at him wonderingly and then looked to her left. Tsukasa was answering Ayumi's excited questions in monosyllables with a bored expression on his face. Feeling her eyes, he turned to look at her.

"What," he growled, his brows drawn over his eyes.

Tsukushi swallowed the food in her mouth and asked, "Why go after only me?"

She paused trying to rearrange her words, "I mean how come you haven't said anything to Hiro? Firing him would be the easiest way to attack me," she said suddenly curious as to his actions.

Tsukasa grunted and turning away from her, he began piling his plate with the vegetable snacks in front of them.

"It's got nothing to do with him," he began, pausing as waiters came, placing large serving dishes of food onto their table. When they had finished and left, he turned back towards her and continued, "I'm not going to fire him because he's got the bad taste to date you. If I punished people for bad taste in women I would have killed Akira long ago," he finished with a smirk.

Akira, who had been following their arguments with one ear while conversing with the others at the same time, twisted towards them to retort to Tsukasa's comment but Tsukushi beat him to it.

"You are such a brat," she exclaimed, "you're pulling all this shit because I what? Offended your ego?!"

Akira, aware that the bickering of the couple next to him were starting to become noisy, caught Ayumi glancing toward Tsukushi.

"Look," he exclaimed loudly catching the attention of the rest of the table. "I think that's a whale out there," he said pointing to the ocean. The other three jumped up and ran to the edge of the veranda to catch a closer glimpse with Akira following.

The pair he had been protecting didn't even notice; Tsukasa slammed his hand on the table and stood up. "Who are you calling a brat, middle-class trash? Don't you know I can take you down," he snapped his fingers, "just like that."

Tsukushi jumped up, refusing to let him beat her, "You are such a freak! Take me down," she said tauntingly, "you can never touch me. You know why?"

She stood toe to toe with him, her heart pumping erratically wild, but she could not for the life of her stop; he seemed to have opened a well of anger in her that she had never experienced before.

"Like you said, I'm a weed and I can survive anything. Even you," she yelled.

Akira, alarmed by the increasing noise level behind him, practically threw Naoki down to the next veranda, "Oh, we can see better from there," herding the others further away.

"What is this," Tsukasa asked sneeringly looking directly into her eyes, "a declaration of war?"

Tsukushi didn't even flinch, "Bring it on!"

* * *

A/N: I guess there are some things that just never change……

Japanese words:

Baka: idiot

Ne: Right? (as in "Isn't that right?")

Sugoi: Wow

Kami: the concept of divinity in Shinto religion; similar to God in Christianity

Thanks to my dahling reviewers, you make my day!

Myzee my deep thanks to you for proving that even when I'm bullshitting I'm still on the money.


	4. He is an absolute lunatic!

A/N: There's some good news and some bad news. Good news is, here's an update (heehee, I'm a sucker for the obvious) bad news, my vacation is over (so sad!) which means updates might not be as regular.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Yori Dango (rub it in why don't you).

* * *

Tsukushi groaned as she felt the hot water hit her bruised and battered body. When she had first taken up this insane declaration of war she had thought if she could avoid him, she wouldn't really have to worry about Doumyouji Tsukasa. The last few hours had definitely taught her differently! 

After lunch, she, Hiro, Naoki and Ayumi split from the other two and decided to go to the beach to start their vacation. From there began Tsukushi's descent to hell. Unsuspecting the madman after her, Tsukushi and the group decided to go windsurfing and the four set out on the water after receiving brief instructions. Tsukushi was on a board with a bright blue and red sail having a blast. Until she saw a flaming arrow headed straight for her. It pierced her sail and down she went.

Next on the list was paragliding. Everyone else went first and they came back down no problems. Tsukushi double-checked to make sure her lines are secure and goes up; a good 20 feet out she notices the pilot hacking away at her rope. See Tsukushi scream, see Tsukushi fall, straight to the ocean.

Rock climbing and she got stuck at the top where fire rescue had to come get her down-the reason, her rope managed to somehow slip through its hook attachment on her body.

They called it quits after AV riding-where Tsukushi was projected out of her vehicle straight into a tree. The manager acted completely amazed that the seat had somehow been ripped from the vehicle. Until Tsukushi, who waited for the others to walk away first, persuaded the manager to spill the beans.

"Its amazing what a little pressure to the throat will do," Tsukushi thought in satisfaction. Unfortunately, she discovered from the manager that Doumyouji had bribed several of the employees, himself included, for certain incidents to happen to her.

"Incidents my ass," Tsukushi snorted, gingerly soaping herself, "he's out for blood." "Ohh," Tsukushi groaned bending over to pick up the soap she dropped only to discover her body seriously did not appreciate what had been going on today. "And its only been Day 1," she thought in gloom.

But she refused to give up-she wasn't a weed for anything, especially not to be trampled down by a moron like him. She got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself. She started hunting around the bathroom for the blow dryer she had stashed somewhere when she heard a knock at the door.

"Wait a second please," she called out and scrambled out of the bathroom to answer it. She peeped her head cautiously out the door, another sneak attack highest in her mind.

"Hello," she called out not seeing anyone in the doorway. She opened the door wider and stepped into the hallway. There was no sign of anyone in either direction, she shrugged her shoulders and went to go back inside. As she was going in she, felt paper underneath her bare feet. Clutching the top of her towel, Tsukushi looked down to find an envelope addressed to her lying there. She picked it up and went inside closing the door behind her. She wondered whom it was from; it didn't seem like any trick Tsukasa would pull, it was so tame. She took out the note inside.

_Tsukushi, Please meet me in the gazebo outside on the water in 30 minutes. I have something important to tell you, Hiro. _

"Hmm, I wonder what its about," Tsukushi thought trying to remember if Hiro seemed to have anything on his mind of late. "Let me go see what he needs to tell me," she said aloud, starting to throw clothes on.

Twenty minutes later, Tsukushi started towards the area indicated on the map in her hand as the gazebo. As she walked towards the French doors leading to the pathway outside, she wondered where the rest of the group was. "It's strange that I don't see anyone," she puzzled but then her brows cleared when she realized that dinner must be starting soon. She hurried to find Hiro before dinner could begin. As she walked down the pathway outside, she marveled at the beauty before her.

This particular area had been sculpted with green lawns stretching on two sides of a pathway with no other flowers or shrubs. The grass abruptly ended but the pathway continued to led directly to a gazebo built on the water. There were no other lights here except the tiny ones strung on the dome of the gazebo itself. When one looked, it seemed as if the gazebo sat in the ocean with the stars as a backdrop. As Tsukushi walked to the gazebo she could see a man facing out to the ocean.

"Hiro," she called and ran up to meet him. He didn't turn around when she called though until she was right behind him. "Hiro," Tsukushi asked questioningly, placing her hand gently on his back.

He turned around and Tsukushi gave a gasp. It was someone else, someone she had never seen before. Tsukushi took a step back but he followed her and grasped her hands.

"Tsukushi-chan I came like your letter asked me too! I think you're hot stuff too!" he said moving his grip up her arms.

"Hey, who are you? Let me go!" Tsukushi cried beginning to struggle in his grip. "Who is this guy and why is he on top of me," she thought trying to push him away.

He brought his face down closer, "Tsukushi-chan I'm hurt, what about that letter you wrote. You said that you wanted me and that you wanted me to do….things to you," he leered in her face as Tsukushi froze in horror. "Did he send you?" she asked in a low voice, shaking in anger. "Did Doumyouji send you to do this?" she shouted.

The man in front of her smirked and Tsukushi felt her stomach heave, "This bastard is enjoying harassing me!" "Yeah he told me to set you up. Your boyfriend is behind us-wait till he sees what you're doing," the man chuckled, amused at the situation. Tsukushi inhaled sharply as she heard footsteps coming down the pathway.

"Bastard!" she screamed as she saw red. She drew her head back sharply just as the man had been descending his own to try and kiss her and headbutted him. "Oww!" The man jerked back clutching his head in his hands. Tsukushi quickly slammed her foot straight into his abdomen and he almost toppled over the railing of the gazebo.

"You bitch!" he screamed moving his hands away from his bloodied face.

Tsukushi closed in on him and drew back her right fist to drive it straight into his face. "You tell Doumyouji he can kiss my ass if he thinks I'll crumble," she called out as the man fell over the railing into the water. Right in time.

Hiro came up to the gazebo, "Hey Tsukushi, why did you want me to meet you here? And didn't I see someone else here with you?"

Tsukushi sighed in relief; it had been too dark for Hiro to notice what had been happening. "No I'm here by myself. Did you get the note," Tsukushi asked on a hunch.

"Yeah it said to meet you here but we're going to miss dinner. Why are we here?" Hiro asked.

"I wanted you to see the view. Isn't it amazing?" she said breezily, putting her arm around his own. "Now lets go eat!"

* * *

"Damn and blast!" Tsukasa threw down his binoculars in frustration almost jumping up and down with fury. "What the hell! Why can't I get this bitch!" 

"Admit it Tsukasa, you can't take this one down," said Akira laying down his own binoculars on his chest.

They were stationed in a ship about 50 yards out from the gazebo hoping to spy on the fireworks. Tsukasa glared down at Akira who was sprawled in a lounger next to him.

"Actually," Akira mused, "doesn't she remind you of someone?"

"No! What third rate person do we know?" he retorted. He looked back towards the gazebo thinking hard; clearly this girl required some more effort. He gave a slight grin, "I'm actually kind of having fun with this though," he thought. Dealing with Tsukushi was the most interesting thing to happen to him for a long time.

Akira, who seemed to be wrapped in deep thought suddenly snapped his fingers, "I know! She looks exactly like your sister. Especially when she's fighting."

Tsukasa's eyebrows snapped up, "What the hell!" he bellowed, enraged. "She is not like my sister, my sister is beautiful!" He threw a punch down which Akira again dodged with practiced ease.

"I'm being serious! They kind of look alike, though Makino has no body whatsoever; but they've both got serious tempers and are violent as hell."

Tsukasa made a sound to protest but quickly shut his mouth. Tsukushi **did** have cute body; he himself had seen a bit of it when he went to drop that letter off at her room. He had been hiding down the hall to make sure she would get it and had seen Tsukushi come out in nothing but a towel. He didn't know why he had been so affected; he had seen lots of other girls in much less but he had been red for a solid hour after having seen her.

Tsukasa shook his head; he was starting to have crazy thoughts. "Whatever. Come on, let's get off this boat and go the bar."

The next morning Tsukushi woke up to an annoying buzzing in her ear. Cracking one eye open she saw the light on the hotel phone blinking.

"Hello," she said grabbing the receiver and placing it next to her ear. A barrage of gibberish flowed through. "Hiro, slow down, I cant understand what you're saying." Tsukushi started repeating what he said feeling her eyes close again, "Conference….afternoon….morning…….play……boat. Boat!" she said opening her eyes with a snap. She sat up quickly in bed, "You want to take a boat out? Right now? Why now? Oh yeah, you guys have a meeting later on. Ok, let me wake Ayumi up. We'll see you at breakfast in 30 minutes. Bye." Tsukushi replaced the phone back into its cradle.

She threw back the covers and headed for the bathroom smiling a little. Hiro was like a little boy; all he had wanted to do since he heard about this trip was to ride a boat.

"Now if only that octopus head doesn't come to ruin things," Tsukushi muttered turning the sink faucet on. She hadn't seen him at all last night; she only hoped things would remain that way for a bit longer.

An hour later Tsukushi, Hiro, Naoki and Ayumi set out for the marina. Tsukushi kept her fingers crossed; while they were breakfasting, there had no sign of Tsukasa or his friend and she just hoped he would stay under whatever rock he was under until Hiro had his boat ride. As they approached the marina Hiro became more and more excited. "I've been wanting to do this for awhile now. I haven't been sailing since high school." The others smiled at him as he continued to chatter about his sailing experiences with his grandfather during school breaks.

The four boarded the ship the dockmaster arranged for them. As Naoki was untying the line, the older man looked up at them. "Are you sure you guys know what you're doing?" he called up to them. Hiro laughed, "Yes, don't worry. We'll be back soon." The dockmaster nodded his head and waved to them as they pulled away from the marina.

Hiro navigated the ship out some distance from the resort while the others enjoyed the sea air. Tsukushi gave a sigh as the breeze played with her hair. It was nice to relax after being so stressed out by that moron; it felt like her troubles were miles away. Tsukushi gave a small giggle, "Well literally, I suppose they are." She placed both arms on the railing of the ship and felt the air around her bare legs gently lifting the edge of her wrap-around red sundress.

Suddenly there was a horrible clanging sound coming from below them. "What was that?" Naoki shouted to Hiro. "I don't know! Let me go down and check the engine." Hiro opened the door to the ships interior and disappeared inside. The ship chugged for a bit and then gave a last lingering screech and abruptly stopped. The air around them still resonating with dying noises of the ship, the three watched wide eyed for Hiro to return.

He came back up the stairs slowly, dark grease over his hands and even a streak on his forehead. He came out to them shaking his head slowly, "I don't know how, but it looks like someone dismantled the fuel connector." Tsukushi and Ayumi looked at each other while Naoki smacked his forehead with the heel of his hand. Tsukushi turned back to Hiro, "What does that mean?" Hiro looked at her, "Well, it seems like the connection from the fuel to the engine was taken apart. Basically there was enough fuel in the engine for us to get out here, but without the missing components, we're stuck." Ayumi cried, "We're stuck here until someone sees us sitting here?" Hiro made a placating gesture, "No, no. I'll go radio someone our location and then can tug us back to the marina right away."

"Oh no," Tsukushi whispered closing her eyes. She heard the others go in to radio for help but she stayed there lifting her unexpectedly trembling hands to her eyes. That damned sense of impending doom came back to her. "He couldn't have," she thought.

When she heard the three simultaneous cries she knew: he had.

Six hours later………

Tsukushi was tired, hungry, sunburned and absolutely furious. They had finally been found by a "rescue" boat sent by the resort; Hiro, poor Hiro, had asked why they hadn't come sooner since they were supposed to have returned hours ago. The rescue group said that nobody had reported them as missing. Everyone looked confused at this except Tsukushi. She just ground her teeth and yelled at the crew to get them back quick. After landing, Tsukushi watched Naoki and Hiro walk dejectedly back to the resort with Ayumi between them. They were exhausted and Naoki and Hiro had missed most of their management meeting, a slight that would not go unnoticed.

Tsukushi shouted up to them, "You guys go ahead. There's umm, something I forgot to do." The others didn't even pause. Tsukushi swung around in the direction of the beach-she had a feeling that that freak would be there since he would have an excellent view of everything.

"The inhuman beast! I mean its one thing to fight with me, but when you throw Hiro, Naoki and Ayumi into it!" she though more angry than she had ever been before in her life. "And Hiro-all he wanted to do is ride that damn boat!" She stomped through the sand looking for Tsukasa. Something glinted in the corner of her eye and she turned towards the outdoor terrace and spotted her quarry.

Tsukasa was rolling with laughter; his plan worked! He had been up the night thinking of something and finally had figured on this. He made sure both boat and radio were disabled so that the group would be well and truly stuck. When he had felt that they had suffered sufficiently, he told the resort to send people to pick them up. They had come back completely dejected and demoralized. He could envision Tsukushi coming to him in tears.

He turned to brace himself on the table behind him, he was laughing so hard that Akira looked at him in slight disgust. "Tsukasa it's not that funny! I mean-" Whatever Akira was about to say was lost forever as a sudden cry rent the air.

"DOUMYOUJI TSUKASA!!!"

Akira saw Tsukushi running towards them and suddenly launch into the air. Tsukasa didn't even have the time to turn around as Tsukushi delivered a flying kick straight to his head. She didn't even stop but continued to run into the resort. Akira dropped to the ground shaking the fallen Tsukasa.

"Tsukasa! Oi, Tsukasa are you Ok?"

Tsukasa stunned, watched the stars revolve around his head. "Nee-chan? Is that you?


	5. What just happened?

A/N: A very merry thank you to my reviewers, I'm glad you're enjoying the story and this one is specially for you guys!

Disclaimer: If I were to own Hana Yori Dango, I would NOT be wasting my time writing about the characters, I would BE with the characters (not a threesome, well, more like a quintet set, me and the F4. Yum!).

* * *

The next afternoon Tsukushi was creeping around the dock carefully trying to avoid being seen. She was trying to set up another boat trip to make up for the debacle of yesterday. The boys were upset that they had missed their meeting on top of the disastrous trip; luckily, they didn't pout for long and last night's karaoke party went a long ways to repair their damaged spirits.

The section workers had another conference for most of the day whileAyumi along with most of the others not actually participating in the seminar, were lounging on the beach getting tans to show off back home; Tsukushi had dressed cutely in a light green sleeveless gingham sundress and low-heeled wooden sandals this morning to pretend that she was going to the beach with everyone else but she had skulked out to the docks surreptitiously.

Tsukushi paused hearing footsteps coming towards her; she scrambled to the side of the main pier, hiding from view behind one of the larger vessels. She didn't want anyone to see her in case they figured out that she was trying to arrange another trip-the less people that know, they less chances there were of another sabotaged trip she thought.

"Crap!" The footsteps continued to come towards here getting louder as the person approached.

She quickly looked around for a better spot but there was only the ocean on the far end and the two boats on both sides. She looked up at the boat before her and decided quickly as the footsteps continued to come closer. She slipped off her wooden sandals to scramble up the stairs on the side of the boat without making noise. She crawled up onto the deck of the ship and got up to run through an open door leading to the interior of the ship. There were a short flight stairs leading downward, which Tsukushi followed to discover a spacious cabin below.

"Wow," Tsukushi said aloud impressed. There was a massive bar complete with bar stools next to her filled with bottles of liquor on mirrored shelves lining the walls while the room itself was appointed as an elegant seating area with plush couches and armchairs. Unfortunately while Tsukushi had been drooling over the cabin, someone opened the door to the stairs and started coming down.

Tsukushi whirled around as she heard footsteps approaching. Her eyes widened as the person came into view, "You!" she breathed.

Tsukasa's eyes widened, "What are you doing here," he asked confused as to why she would be on his ship.

Tsukushi compressed her lips and turned her back to him, crossing her arms across her chest. "Don't talk to me! You are without a doubt, the biggest bastard I know!"

Tsukasa's eyebrow twitched. "Hey," he shouted coming to stand right behind her, "what makes you think you can talk to me like that?"

Tsukushi turned around to stab her finger in his chest; she could feel her blood boiling by the sight of him alone. "I can't believe you would be that despicable as to ruin that boat so you get back at me! What about the other people there, hunh? Did they even count in your twisted scheme to fight with me?" she asked repeatedly jabbing him right in the center of his chest.

Tsukasa chortled with malicious glee, "That really got you didn't it?" He bent over smirking in her face, "You guys came back pathetic looking. That's why I say common people suck; no matter what I can get you anytime, anywhere."

He stopped and gave her a considering look, "But I might be willing to stop if you stop going with Hiro."

Tsukushi looked at him the same way she would look at a deranged moose, "What? What in the hell are you talking about?" she hollered at him.

Tsukasa turned his head trying to act nonchalant, "Well I'll consider this thing done if you hang out with me instead. You know, come when I call, talk to me. Of course, you can't be seen with me. I mean you're still poor and a nobody but I'll get things for you."

Tsukushi, to put it mildly, blew her top. "What the hell are you talking about you moron? Be with you?! Talk to you?! Why would I want to spend more time with such a complete idiot? Sheesh! If I spend anymore time with you I would be scared your stupidity would rub off on me!"

Tsukasa turned bright red and it wasn't from embarrassment, "What's wrong with you? I can give you anything in the world; anyone with sense would realize their fortune! But you're some stupid bimbo-don't you know, Hiro would probably sell you to me if I asked!"

"YOU DUMBASS!!!" she screamed hurtling her hands against his chest, fed up beyond all endurance. "SHUT UP!" he yelled right back at her using his own strength to resist her pushing. He reached up and grabbed the back of her head, intending to throw her back. Instead, at that instant, her hands drew back to try and punch him, but without the impetus of her hands, Tsukasa had nothing to balance his chest on and fell forward…..on top of Tsukushi.

As they both fell to the ground, Tsukasa held onto her tightly and drew his hands forward to grip her head to his chest. "Oooph," Tsukasa grunted as they both hit the ground. Disoriented, Tsukushi shook her head and then raised it to find Tsukasa looking down at her.

"Did you protect me?" she whispered. Tsukasa looked down at her.

For a long, long moment Tsukasa looked into her eyes, unable to tear himself from what was captured in her gaze. From her eyes, his gaze dipped down to her lips; Tsukushi felt her eyes widen. He slowly bent his head down with Tsukushi watching, her heart stuck in her throat, and caught her lips with his own. Tsukushi felt her eyes go round with shock, "What is he doing," she screamed in her head. But as he moved his lips over hers, she felt her eyes close as tendrils of lassitude curled around her body. Tsukasa brought one hand down from her hair to carefully cradle her face and jaw.

Applying pressure to her lower jaw, he coaxed her mouth open, deepening the kiss. Tsukushi made an incoherent sound, one that drove Tsukasa crazy. He wrapped his strong arms around her body, straining it to his own, devouring her mouth with his. Tsukushi grasped his shoulders with her hands not believing the sensations seeping through her body.

"Tsukasa?" They broke apart as they heard a deep voice calling out. "Tsukasa, where are you?"

Tsukasa looked up towards the stairs. He turned back to look down at Tsukushi, "I forgot. Akira was following me. We're supposed to take the ship out." His voice deepened, "Do you want to come with us?"

Tsukushi's eyes widened. A thousand thoughts filled her head the loudest ones screaming, "What the hell happened? Did I just make out with him? And why am I still on my back!" She quickly scrambled up, pushing Tsukasa off of her.

"Oh Kami, oh Kami," she chanted, looking for her shoes that she had forgotten about after running into him. She was focused on finding her shoes that she didn't hear him coming up behind her. "Tsukushi, listen-"

She whirled to face him, "No you listen to me! This is crazy! I don't even like you," she said bluntly, bending to look for her shoes again, missing Tsukasa flinch at her words. "You've done the absolute most insane things to me and you expect me to like you?!" she snorted. "Not bloody likely!" "Oh," she gasped, seeing her shoes under a chair. She ran to put them on.

"Yeah, then why did you let me kiss-"

"Hey, there you are." Tsukushi and Tsukasa both turned to see Akira reach the last step. His eyes widened as he saw the both of them.

"Why are you both red?" he asked.

* * *

Tsukushi made her way slowly back to her room. Luckily Akira's arrival had distracted Tsukasa enough that she had managed to slip away without answering too many questions. But she still heard his unfinished question in her head-it mirrored ones her brain was asking her as well, "Why let him kiss her? Why participate in a kiss with the devil incarnate?" It wasn't as if she liked him, Tsukushi thought; in fact it wasn't a far off instance to say that she loathed him. He was a rich supercilious brat who had a vicious temper and absolutely no conscience whatsoever.

But in spite of that, somehow his fierce kiss, his soft lips, it had felt good, more than good really, it felt….right. "Ugh," Tsukushi groaned, placing a hand on her head, "now I'm going crazy. Kissing him felt right? I need a drink." She made her way inside the resort to park herself at one of the multitude of bars before she went to meet up with Ayumi on the beach.

The next morning…..

Tsukushi woke up, blinking her eyes a bit. She curled into a fetal position aware that there was some disturbing thought floating around; her sleep had been troubled when usually she was comatose. She groaned, bringing the covers up over her head, "Right, Tsukasa."

Yesterday, after an hour of drinking away her problems, she had gone to the beach to find Ayumi and had spent several hours with her and the others undisturbed by any more pranks. When the management meeting that Hiro and the others had attended finished, the entire group gathered for an evening barbeque around a gigantic bonfire and night show with dances from local groups. The whole time she could feel eyes staring at her back, demanding that she turn around but she chose to ignore it. Instead she played it safe and stuck to Hiro or the others during the night refusing to even meet his eyes.

Except once…when one of the local dancers had grabbed her arm to gather her into what appeared to be a hula dance around the bonfire. Tsukushi, in a bikini top and sarong skirt like most of the women there, had a lei thrown over her neck and a crown of leaves placed on her hair to join the group of dancers weaving gracefully around the leaping fire in time to the heavy beats of the massive drums. Trying to dance as the others, she looked up, laughing, to find Tsukasa staring at her. He stood at the edge of the group, some distance from the others, appearing to be casual in khakis and a black linen shirt hands in his pockets; but Tsukushi knew he was feeling anything but casual. Their eyes locked and she could feel the tension between them almost as a palpable being. Her heart thudding painfully against her ribcage, she felt the drumbeats thunder in her head but she could not breath much less draw her eyes away.

She was jolted back to reality, literally when someone bumped into her and she turned her head away. She scolded herself for being silly and did not look at him again for the remainder of the night.

But now it was morning and she had to figure something out, right? "No, I don't," she thought crossly. "I don't like him. Yes, I kissed him, but is that a crime? It shows I have bad taste, but its not like I have to marry him or something," Tsukushi thought flipping the covers off of her. "That's right," she said aloud her mood improving dramatically, "it was only a kiss. I'm spazing for no reason at all. Whatever, not anymore!" She jumped out of bed energized, "Ayumi wake up! Hiro is going to try to take us boating again before we have to leave today."

The rest of the day passed peacefully with breakfast first then the boating trip that went smoothly. They came back in for lunch and went for a final dip in the sea. "This is exactly what I wanted," thought Tsukushi walking slowly back to her room, trying to absorb her last moments in the sun; the others had already gone ahead to try and throw their things together before the vans came to pick them up. "Lying on the beach, sailing with Hiro basically enjoying a vacation," she thought walking through the quiet hallway of the resort.

"But it was just the slightest bit boring today wasn't it," snaked a treacherous voice through her mind. Tsukushi firmly squashed the thought and quickened her pace to her room.

In her hurry, she failed to look where she was going until she ran right into a solid wall, "Oof!" She would have fallen over had not a warm arm encircled her waist.

"Tsukushi."

Eyes wide she looked up into Tsukasa's face. For a moment they stayed that way until Tsukushi blinked.

"Um, thanks," she said softly, backing out of his hold.

"Matte, I need to talk to you," Tsukasa said in low voice placing a warm hand on her arm.

Tsukushi bit her lip, "I….."

"Tsukushi-chan!" The both turned as a female voice called out. It was one of the women from the group, "The vans will be here in 15 minutes," she called out running to spend some money at the last minute in a boutique near where they were standing, not even noticing who Tsukushi was with.

Tsukushi was relieved, "I have to go, I need to finish packing," she said shaking off his grasp turning to speed away to her room.

She missed Tsukasa clench his fist as his arm dropped back down. His eyes narrowed on her figure running away.

"I'll get you," he vowed, "even if I have to chase you down," his gaze continued to look in the direction she had taken, "I'll catch you."

* * *

OMG-what just happened here?! Since when does Tsukasa got moves?!

Anyway, was listening to Namie Amuro's Four Seasons while writing this; highly recommend it.

Japanese words:

Kami – the idea of divinity in Shinto religion, similar to God in Christianity

Matte – Wait (oops! Thanks HYD4Ever)


	6. Of course, THAT'S where I'm going to wor...

A/N: Thanks again to my reviewers!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Yori Dango or any of its characters.

* * *

Tsukushi watched the snow falling outside her dorm room window. She gave a sigh, unsure of why she was feeling so disquieted.

It had been about three weeks since the trip. She had neither seen nor heard from Tsukasa. "But why would I want to," she thought. "He's a jerk, arrogant as hell and selfish to boot! There was nothing between us except fighting. Wait….does that mean I wanted there to be something more between us?! Arg!" she cried, pulling on her hair. "I'm so confused!" She groaned and rested her head on her folded arms.

To top it off when she had come back from the trip she found her family in the midst of problems, again. Her father and mother had quit the fishing village, as it seemed they were blamed for the cause of a local drought of fish. As her mother described it, the superstitious villagers ran them out of town in the middle of the night with pitchforks and torches. Tsukushi raised her eyebrow at that one, but, as always, helped them find a new place.

It was on the outskirts of Tokyo where amazingly enough, after having moved in, her mother found a job as a manager of a store. It seems she had gone in there to buy some vegetables and her arguments to lower the prices impressed the regional manager who had been visiting the area. He offered her the job on the spot and her mother gladly accepted. Her father was still looking for employment, but Tsukushi hoped for the best.

She and Susumu had spent the two-week school break with their parents. It was a small apartment, but local people were nice and Tsukushi found temp work in a near-by restaurant to help Susumu with money for school trips and shoes and stuff. Last night had been the last night spent with her family and Tsukushi had budgeted that they could actually go out to eat-it was a noodle stall, but hey who was counting.

Tsukushi's eyes crinkled in remembered laughter: her mother had gotten into a fight with the stall's owner over prices while her father and Susumu stole more noodles off the stove while she had been screaming at them in the background. Her family was way dysfunctional, she thought, but at least they managed to stay together.

She looked up as she heard a knock on her door. "Come in," she called out. T

The door opened and Yuuki walked in.

"Hey chica, still feeling blue," she asked sitting down on the bed opposite Tsukushi.

Tsukushi lived alone in a double, a spacious double one floor above Yuuki in the same dorm. Her roommate had left soon after the school year started to finish her senior year working abroad in London; Tsukushi didn't mind-she liked having the space all to herself and when she was lonely Yuuki or her other friends stayed over.

Tsukushi pouted, "Yes and I don't know why, I just feel wretched. Like my skin is too tight for me."

Yuuki grimaced at her, "Ugh. That's a nasty description." She paused and then asked softly, "Do you think its because of Hiro's boss?"

Tsukushi turned to look out the window once more not replying; she had told Yuuki everything, from the beginning of the stupid war to all the tricks he had pulled, everything…except for the kiss.

A knock sounded on the door, startling the two of them. "Come in," Tsukushi called out, curious as to who it could be.

It was one of the girls from her accounting class, Kiri . "Tsukushi-chan, I heard from Mioko-chan that the list for the senior year internships has been posted. Do you want to come check it with me?"

Tsukushi nodded and looked at Yuuki who nodded as well. They threw on some coats and trudged outside to the business building. The snow was not sticky, the flakes melting as soon as it touched the ground but it was still cold.

As they reached the bulletin board on the side of the main door, they saw some other students from their class as well.

"Oh Kami," breathed Kiri, "I heard the internships can really affect your future."

Yuuki looked questioningly at them since she had nothing to do with business and had little idea how their system worked; Tsukushi explained. "If you're placed with a good company, which the school tries really hard to do, then they could offer you an excellent starting position straight from school. If you somehow manage to completely screw-up, the company can complain which then it reflects very poorly on your final grade." Yuuki nodded her head in understanding while the other two peered up at the board in trepidation.

Kiri gave a squeal, "Yes! I'm placed with the Suzaku firm. They're supposed to snap people up just like that!"

Tsukushi smiled at her distractedly, still looking for her name.

Makino Tsukushi. She saw and it looked across to the name of the company where she would spend the next six months. Her eyes almost bulged out of their sockets; she could feel her heart begin to pound crazily against her ribcage.

"Look Tsukushi-chan, you're working in the same company as your boyfriend!"

A muscle twitched in Tsukushi's jaw. "Boyfriend? What boyfriend? Just because he kissed me once does not mean that deviant is my boyfriend," Tsukushi cried. The other two looked at her as if she had gone crazy.

"Hiro kissed you?" Yuuki asked.

"Hiro?" Tsukushi repeated, confused. "Oh, Hiro" she almost smacked herself in the head; she had forgotten Hiro worked there as well. "Oh no. Hiro didn't kiss me. And he is **not** my boyfriend," she said sternly facing the other two.

Kirigiggled, "Sure. But still you're lucky to be working with D. C.; what a great opportunity. Its such a powerful firm," the girl went on talking about the might of D.C.

Tsukushi spaced out. "She's right," Tsukushi thought, not noticing that they had started to walk back to the dorm, "this is a fabulous opportunity to start a career. I work hard, get a good letter of recommendation; if it's D.C., that can get me most anywhere." Tsukushi groaned inwardly, "Then why do I have all these doubts. Why does it feel like I'm walking straight into another trap?"

Tsukushi stopped suddenly. "Umm you guys go ahead," she said to the other two. "I think one of my professors has office hours today. I need to go see her really quick."

"Ok, do you want me to wait for you in your room," Yuki asked.

Tsukushi nodded, "Yup. I'll see in you in a bit," she said turning around to run back to the business building.

Half hour later…

Tsukushi quietly opened the door to her room to see Yuuki sprawled on the spare bed going through a clothing catalogue.

"Did you find your professor?" Yuuki asked as Tsukushi started taking off her coat.

"Yeah, luckily I caught her just as she was leaving." Tsukushi sat down in a chair across from Yuuki, bringing her knees up under her chin and wrapping her arms around them. "I wanted to ask if someone had arranged for me to get this particular internship," she said, putting emphasis on the "someone."

Yuuki gave a weird look, "Do you think Doumyouji-san would have gone to all that trouble to get you to work for him," she asked.

Tsukushi raised one eyebrow, "Umm, like arranging an entire office floor to vacation in Fiji for four days is nothing?" Yuuki gave a small laugh.

Tsukushi continued, "Anyway I just wanted to check and see if it was him, but it wasn't."

Tsukushi had been surprised to learn that her professor had actually personally arranged to have her intern with D. C., stating that it would be the best training ground for one of her brightest students. "She said I would be dumb to pass this up for whatever reason." Tsukushi gave a sigh and rested her head on her knees.

"Well, doesn't he work with Hiro in another department. Maybe you wont have to see him at all," Yuuki said comfortingly.

Tsukushi picked her head up to look at Yuuki. "You know that's true. They would be on a whole separate floor from the accounting department. Anyway, why am I getting upset?"

Yuuki nodded, "Yes, it's not like you like him or anything."

Tsukushi thumped a fist down on her knee becoming more worked up, "Exactly! I don't like, in fact, I hate him! He's an awful man, he uses money to further his dirty little pranks; he's as loathsome as a snake with cold eyes and that crazy hair and…" Tsukushi trailed off as she heard Yuuki laughing.

"What?"

Yuuki replied, in between laughs, "Who are you trying to convince, me or yourself?" She kept laughing even as a pillow hit her square in the face.

* * *

The next Tuesday Tsukushi was fighting against the freezing wind to walk the remainingfive blocks from her train stop to Doumyouji Corp.

The weather had turned bitterly cold since the weekend though the snow had stopped. Tsukushi hurried along before her nose fell off from the cold; it was her second day at and the first one she would be working. Yesterday had been filled with paperwork, orientation, security checks, obtaining an ID and various other corporate hassles. She had also met 3 other students from her school who were interning at Doumyouji Corp. though none were in her department. But the manner in which they had enthused about the honor of working for Doumyouji Corp. strengthened Tsukushi's resolve to move forward in this venture. "I'm a weed," she repeated to herself as she approached the imposing Doumyouji Corp. structure so large it blocked the sun from the sky.

As she walked in the building, she unbuttoned her outer coat, making sure her id was visible to the security guard in the foyer and followed the other employees to the elevator bank.

The accounting department was on the 17th floor and as Tsukushi emerged from the elevator, she felt a sense of excitement building.

"Its invigorating," she thought, walking from the elevator down the hallway, "to finally be able to start my career, to finally be able to be in a position to be independent." As she opened the door, she was interrupted from her musings by a chorus of good mornings.

The accounting department had one huge main office that occupied half of the 17th floor; most of the space was covered with cubicles while the four department managers had their own offices. The cubicles were all occupied with accountants, the largest private, single of sector of billing in the country. Tsukushi had her own cubicle in the middle of the floor, towards the back near the managers' offices and after hanging her coat in the closet, she went to drop her stuff down.

Yesterday she had been given a tour of the floor and an introduction to the department managers and several of the other accountants; everyone was friendly and professional and seemed to be extremely dedicated to their work. She was given an outline of expectations and duties and was assigned to shadow a junior accountant.

As she placed her bag on her little desk, Tsukushi saw her senior, Megumi, wave to her from the office kitchen. Tsukushi sat down and changed her sneakers to her office shoes. Commuting from school was no joke especially during winter and Tsukushi did not want to have to buy new office shoes every so often.

Megumi came over with a mug of tea for Tsukushi.

"Mmm, thanks," Tsukushi said gratefully wrapping her hands around the mug.

"No problem," Megumi said smiling.

Tsukushi had instantly felt comfortable with the other girl after meeting her yesterday and they had spent lunch exchanging stories. Megumi was a lot like her, from a lower middle-class family, though she was the middle child. She had also worked her way through school and had joined D.C. after working in another firm for 3 years.

"Cold isn't it," she asked Tsukushi and taking a seat in her own cubicle which was next to Tsukushi's on her right. Tsukushi who had just taken a sip of her tea, nodded her head.

"You have a friend in the investments floor don't you? Can you ask him for a ride," Megumi asked as she started to go through the paperwork on her desk.

"No," Tsukushi replied, "Hiro lives in the complete opposite direction of the school." She put down her mug, "Besides its really not that bad of a commute," she said, minimizing the situation.

Megumi turned to give her a considering look, "Well, its just that its supposed to get colder soon and I hate to think of you turning to a Popsicle."

Tsukushi laughed, "Its no big deal." She turned to her desk, "the cold is the least of my problems here," she said under her breath. But so far so good she thought optimistically. "If I stay low to the ground maybe I can avoid seeing him for the whole six months," she thought before beginning her own work.

But she had forgotten one crucial element: Hiro.

The rest of the morning past fairly quickly and Tsukushi found herself applying much of the knowledge that she had learned for the past 2 and half years and learning the mechanics of accounting practices in a corporation the size of Doumyouji Corp. Before she had even realized it Megumi was tapping her on the shoulder. Tsukushi looked up slowly, completely absorbed in her work.

"Hey, I know analyzing the cost effect ratio is way interesting," Megumi teased, "but do you want to eat some lunch?"

Tsukushi opened her eyes wide and looked around her; most of the other cubicles were empty. "Oops," she said with a laugh. She stood and stretched her arms over her head, feeling her unused muscles lengthening, "Ok, lets go."

They made their way to the employee cafeteria on the second floor, a colorful din of activity and enticing smells.

"Mmm," Tsukushi said closing her eyes as a particularly fragrant aroma wafted past her nose.

The cafeteria had been arranged into a series of island stations: one station served completely vegetarian choices, another had sushi, and another was a cold salad bar and soup selection. Tsukushi ran around picking things up from several stations while Megumi sedately went through the sushi island. When she felt that she had enough food on her plate, Tsukushi looked around for Megumi and found her in one of end of the room with the other accountants; she made her way to the table, careful not spill any food. Megumi looked up and her eyes widened at the heaping plate Tsukushi carried in front of her. Tsukushi placed her tray on the table and was about to sit down when she realized the table had gone quiet staring at the tray.

"What," she started defensively, "its free food and I'm a student remember? We're poor and hungry by nature."

The table snickered as one of the men eyed the plate then Tsukushi's slim figure, "Its not that, it's just where do you put it all?" he asked and those around them broke into laughter.

"Haa, haa," Tsukushi said and sat, "Itadakimasu."

As she began working her way through the mountain of food, the conversation around her began again after her interruption.

"Yeah," said one of the men across from Tsukushi at the far end, "I heard he's been pretty tame recently; ever since the Fiji trip."

Tsukushi, having finished her salad, was starting to go through a landslide of sushi when felt a cold wave wash over her at his words.

"I wonder what happened," commented another woman, "do you think he got arrested or something?"

A hush went around the table and then abruptly everyone started laughing.

"No way," said the woman seated next to Tsukushi, "who the hell would arrest Doumyouji Tsukasa-san?"

Megumi nodded her head, "Yes, with the amount of money and power that man has there is no way he would ever be arrested."

"Well, he didn't get arrested but maybe he got laid," another man said with a leer.

The table broke out into raucous laughter while Tsukushi felt a slight blush creeping around her cheeks. "Kami-sama," sighed one of the women, "who wouldn't want to sleep with him. He's so cute!" Tsukushi looked at her in shock then looked around the table in amazement as she heard various other sighs from the women there. Even Megumi looked a bit googly-eyed and she shook her head when she saw Tsukushi stare at her.

"Oh, Tsukush-chan doesn't know who we're talking about," she said to the table in general. She turned to face Tsukushi again, "We're talking about the big boss's son, Doumyouji Tsukasa. He works here, I think in banking?" she states questioningly.

Tsukushi gulped over a sudden piece of nigri that had lodged in her throat, "Yeah, he's in the banking division," came a response. "And he's got the worst temper…." The rest of the lunch passed by as the table related the various exploits of Doumyouji Tsukasa to Tsukushi.

Apparently, Tsukasa passed a majority of his time getting into brawls, usually at night wherever he happened to go after work, fights which then had to be hushed up with money. Tsukushi learned of the red tags he used to give out to employees who angered him, leading to harassment of the unfortunately tagged employee; she wasn't surprised to hear that no one had managed to continue to work here after being red-tagged. Luckily for the employees, somehow the BBB had heard of it and had forced Tsukasa to stop the practice.

As Tsukushi emptied her trash at then end of lunch, she thought of Tsukasa, "Was I the first person to not give up?"

She was so focused in her thoughts that she failed to hear her own name being called; she felt a hand grip her shoulder and it was as if everything came back into focus: she heard the noise of the cafeteria and saw Hiro standing before her.

Tsukushi gasped, "Hiro!"

Hiro gave her a wondering look, "I was calling your name, didn't you hear me?"

Tsukushi shook her head, "No," she tried to laugh it off, "must be the sushi rice, made me sleepy." She turned to face the rest of her group, "Anyway, let me introduce you to the people I work with." Tsukushi pointed out the accountants that were still there, "And this is Megumi-san the accountant I'm shadowing during the program," Tsukushi finished as the two bowed to each other.

"Megumi-san, is it ok if steal Tsukushi for bit? I just want to show her our floor since she's never come to visit me before," Hiro taunted pulling Tsukushi's cheek.

Tsukushi felt her heart start to pound faster, "I can't go with him, I'll run into Tsukasa! Say no Megumi, please," Tsukushi thought furiously, trying to mentally project her thoughts to Megumi. Megumi looked at Tsukushi, as if sensing her telepathy Tsukushi thought hopefully.

"Of course, please take her away, maybe then I can finally get some work done," Megumi teased.

Tsukushi's face fell. Hiro turned to her and she pasted a false smile on, "Come on," he said pulling her arm towards the elevators, "quick tour so you know where to bring my coffee to in the morning. Thanks Megumi-san, I'll bring her back fast." Megumi waved them off before getting into a different elevator with the rest of their team.

As Hiro pulled her onto a different elevator, Tsukushi felt her apprehension grow. "But why am I getting nervous for," she scolded herself. "I am not now nor ever will be scared of Doumyouji Tsukasa." But she could not tamp down her emotions and felt her pulse rate increase as they entered the elevator.

* * *

A/N: Oh boy, I hope Tsukushi can somehow become invisible! I know this was kind of short (and with no bishie alert!) but I needed to get some filler out of the way. Thanksand please R R. 


	7. The Chase

A/N: Sorry my friends for the long update; have been currenly living like a vampire for work-today was the first time in a long time that I've seen the sun! Didn't realize what a cliffie the last chapter was, heehee! Hope this fulfills the fix!

Disclaimer: I don't own HYD which is sadder than anything since it's 19 degrees outside and how I would LOVE an Tsukasa shaped snuggler.

* * *

With a muted chime, the elevator came to a silent halt on the twenty-first floor; Tsukushi followed behind Hiro with scarcely concealed trepidation.

The floor layout here was different, with a receptionist stationed in an elegant foyer directly outside of the elevator bank. Hiro nodded to her briefly before ushering Tsukushi past the foyer through a pair of heavy mahogany double doors. The hallway beyond was decorated in classic sophistication with a majority of the pathway in polished hardwood while the edges were lined in cream carpet. Antique tables with plants and expensive sculptures as well as hanging artwork were displayed throughout the hallway pronouncing gracefully the success of the company. Hiro explained the arrangement as they continued to walk. The rooms they had already passed were the different global managers offices when they were in Tokyo; thus, the manager from North America had an office here, the regional manager of South America, etc. At the end of the hallway was a conference room used for client meetings and special occasions.

"Where's your section," Tsukushi asked. Hiro stopped at a door, "Right here," he said throwing open the door, motioning for her to precede him.

The first thing Tsukushi noticed as she walked into the room was that the arrangement was similar to the design in her own department: the section workers divided the larger space closer to the door as their own while there were offices in the back reserved for section chiefs. Except that the room and the amount of people working here was a much smaller number than the accountants downstairs and that there were not four different managers here, there was only one office. Across the distance Tsukushi could catch a glimpse of curly hair through the glass that separated his office from that of the rest of the section. "Shit!" she thought and hunched forward in an attempt, however inane, to avoid being seen.

Hiro, oblivious to Tsukushi's distress, blithely conducted her on a tour of his section, showing her all the nooks and crannies and reacquainting her with people she had met during her Fiji trip. He brought her Naoki's desk near the far wall for a quick chat but Naoki seemed distracted by a project he was dealing with so they left him to it.

Hiro dragged her towards the back of the section to his desk. Tsukushi, alarmed at the proximity of his desk to where Tsukasa's office stood, tried pulling her wrist from Hiro's grip. "Oh, look at the time," she exclaimed with false surprise, "I have to get back to my floor!"

Hiro stopped and looked at her. "Well, let me just show you the manager's office; Doumyouji-san's got the best view of downtown, you can see everything," he said.

"Oh yes, looks like a very nice office from here. I can even see a window."

"Tsukushi! You're standing behind me, how can you see anything," Hiro asked, exasperated as Tsukushi compressed herself behind his body.

Tsukushi, keeping one eye on the manager's office, tried to placate Hiro. "Well, it's not as if the office is-"

"Hiro!" Both Tsukushi and Hiro turned to see Naoki coming up to them.

"Hiro, sorry to bother you, but the latest response from the investment consortium is not looking good. Do you have the previous projections for the project?"

"Yes, let me help you with that." Hiro turned to Tsukushi, "sorry, but I have to go. Can I show the rest to you later?"

Tsukushi nodded her head and watched as the two men hurried to the far side of the room. She gave a deep sigh of relief, amazed that the potential disaster had somehow been averted and carefully made her way across the room, near one of the rows in the middle of the room.

As Tsukushi picked her way through the aisle, she felt her heart drumming in her chest. His proximity, even across an office floor, was affecting her body. "Its only because I dislike him so much," Tsukushi rationalized. "There's no other reason." Just to prove it to herself, Tsukushi turned for one last glimpse of him.

As the curve of her hair brushed against her jaw, Tsukushi saw the top of his head as he was bent over a document on his desk. The involuntary sigh from her lips froze as slowly, slowly, his head came up. Bit by bit, so much that it felt as if a century passed, his eyes rose up to hers, capturing her gaze. They stared at each other until Tsukasa's body gave a sudden jolt, breaking the spell encircling them.

Tsukushi dropped to the ground, hoping against hope that he hadn't recognized her. She caught her breath but could hear a familiar voice call out, "Hey did you see a woman here?" "Damn it!" she cursed under her breath and began crawling with lighting speed towards the direction of the door.

"What the-Are you ok Tsukushi-chan?" came a voice from her right.

"Yes, yes, fine," she replied, "Dropped a contact, looking for it, don't need help, thanks though," she called out zooming as fast as possible on all fours. She could hear his heavy footsteps walking across the rows inquiring about her and cringed at his booming voice.

"What the hell," she thought feeling perspiration starting to gather on her face. "Why is he so persistent!"

As the door to the outer hallway was in sight, her eyes widened suddenly as she heard his footsteps coming down the carpet behind her. She quickly ducked behind one of the wooden partitions straight into someone's legs.

"Hey, what are you doing?" the man started. He paused to look at her, "Wait, aren't you Takahashi's friend? What are you.."

Tsukushi didn't hear the rest of the question as her field of vision suddenly filled with a pair of gray trouser-clad legs. Tsukushi's eyes traveled up the legs to the bottom of a matching gray suit jacket, up further to a dark blue suit shirt with matching paisley tie, stopping at a furious looking face topped with curly hair. "Tsukushi! What the hell-"

"Look!" Tsukushi shouted springing up suddenly and pointing towards the back window. Both men turned abruptly eyes bulging to see what Tsukushi had been shouting about. Tsukushi took the opportunity and lit like a bat out towards the door.

As she opened the door, she heard Tsukasa roar behind her, "Baka onna! Wait right here!"

"Its there stupid!" she called back slamming the door shut and throwing a plant which had been to her right in front of the door and ran straight down the hallway. "Oh shit, oh shit," she chanted as she heard him follow her, his much, much longer legs eating up the distance between them. She looked back to see him fling the door back so forcefully it took the door off half its hinges and fling the plant away. "Damn," her mind screamed and she increased the speed of her legs.

Adrenaline pumping and mind thrown into overdrive, she realized that the elevators were too far away and too unreliable, which meant…. She plunged suddenly to her right throwing open the door and began rushing down the stairs. "WAIT!" Tsukushi heard Tsukasa bellow behind her and saw he had just started down the stairs as she glanced at him over her shoulder. She turned back forward to increase her speed.

"OH SHIT!" she shrieked as she saw a man coming up, his arms full of boxes; grabbing onto the railing she leaped over its edge to hit straight down onto the next floor.

"BE CAREFUL IDIOT!" She heard then loud cursing as Tsukasa pushed the man to the side and stormed down the stairs. Tsukushi didn't even pause but threw open the door to the floor she had landed on and after a quick glance darted down the hallway to her right.

The floor was a mess and looked as if it was being refurbished; Tsukushi had to leap over several bags of concrete blocking the path to burn down the hallway. She flung up her hand for support against the wall as she tore abruptly to the left…and ran smack into a makeshift wooden wall. "Damn," she cursed and whirled around to see Tsukasa come to a screeching halt almost on top of her. Tsukushi backed up until she felt the wall plastered to her back, panting for breath as Tsukasa advanced on her slowly. She balled her hands into fists preparing to let fly when he closed the distance between them.

"Why you-" she began, ready to curse him six ways from Sunday but became speechless as she realized that he had swept his arms around her body and was embracing her.

Tsukasa bent his head, pressing his face against her hair, "Do you know how long I've been looking for you," he asked, the words muffled against her head. "Three weeks of not knowing where you are, what happened, what you're doing,"

Tsukushi's eyes widened; for the longest moment she stayed still, hearing his thundering heartbeat, inhaling the spicy scent of him. When she realized where she was, she lifted up her hands that had been hanging limply at her side, and grasped his arms to elevate her head from his chest. She looked up, "you were looking for me," she asked, confused. Tsukasa looked down at her, "Yeah," he said with a sigh.

He was looking at her as if to try and memorize her face. Tsukushi felt a shiver running down her back. Tsukasa continued, "I looked for you after I came back, but the dorms were closed at TU." He paused and gave her a little shake, "Do you know how many Makino's there are in Tokyo?"

Tsukushi gave a little smile, "No, but my parents don't live in Tokyo." Tsukasa gave a groan, "No wonder."

Tsukushi gave a shake of her head, "wait stupid, you're getting side-tracked! It always happens with him."

"Hold on, why were you looking for me," she asked, stepping back out of his embrace. Tsukasa dropped his arms and turned so that only have of his face was visible. "I wanted to see you. I didn't know if you had gotten back safely or not." He looked at her from the corner of his eye and then looked forward again. "I mean we went to another country. What if you have gotten sick on the way back or got your luggage lost," he kept rambling as Tsukushi stood back and looked at him skeptically. Tsukasa, seeing her expression, lost his temper, "Whatever, baka onna! I was being chivalry and trying to make sure you hadn't died or anything. Not like you cared or anything," he snorted, "stupid, always running away!"

Tsukushi, ticked off, shouted, "First, its chivalrous moron! Second, I was not running away, I went to visit my family and how was I to know you would come looking for me?"

His brows drew together on his face as a sudden thought came to him, "You do run away, you ran way just now! Why were you running away," he said, gesturing to the floor around him. He loomed over her, getting more and more worked up, "What the hell? You saw me and ran as fast as you possibly could, even after I called you," he yelled at her, shaking the wood behind her.

Tsukushi faced him right back, her hands in fists on her hips, "What do you expect? The first time we meet, we fight, then you lure me to an island along with a bunch of unsuspecting people, sneak attack me for 2 days," she said ticking her fingers off for all of his crimes. "Then you jump on me and expect me to what? Come to your office and say Hi, how are you?" Tsukushi gave him a look of scorn.

Which he didn't even notice, "Why are you always focusing on the bad stuff in our relationship? I might have done some things," he said waving her accusations off with flippant movement of his hand, "but come on-"

Tsukushi interrupted unable to listen to him continue, "Relationship? We," she said flicking her finger between him and herself, "have no relationship."

Suddenly realizing the time, she started to leave, "I have to go, I have work to do." She felt Tsukasa following behind her. "What work? What are you even doing here," he asked at last curious as to her presence in the building. Tsukushi stopped, "What do I say," she thought frantically "oh yeah and I just happen to be working for you?!"

Tsukasa, apparently not one to stop and think rationally for logical reasons, (key words rationally and logical), gave a burst of laughter. "Haa, haa, you came to see me," he pronounced excitedly throwing his head back and cackling. "You couldn't resist my charm and had to come see me," he said completely ignoring the fact that they were presently in a location due to her desire to AVOID him.

Tsukushi narrowed her eyes, arrogant pig! "Why does the world have to revolve around you," she huffed, "what if I said I was here to see Hiro?"

Suddenly Tsukushi found herself thrown against the wall with Tsukasa on top of her clenching her arms in a grasp that hurt. He thrust his face into hers, his eyes narrowed to slits, his face tightened with fury. "You were here to see Hiro," he bit out; Tsukushi could only stare at him. What had happened-they had been fighting as usual and then out of nowhere this….it was as if it was a completely different Tsukasa. She could feel the waves of anger rolling off of him and it scared her. He shook her, hard, causing her head to jerk back and forth as if she were a rag doll, "Is it Hiro? Were you here to see your boyfriend," Tsukasa sneered, his face distorted with fury.

"No I'm not here to see Hiro; I work here now," she blurted out, shocked by the sudden atmosphere change. And like that Tsukasa's face cleared. He dropped his hands off her arms. Tsukushi stared at him warily and slowly edged away unsure if he was back to normal or not. He didn't say anything but stood still, lost in thought. Suddenly a finger came down onto the tip of her nose; Tsukushi, startled, followed it up to see a huge grin on Tsukasa's face.

"You work here now?" Tsukushi gulped, "I so told him the wrong thing," she thought. No use turning back now.

"Yes, I'm interning here for the next six months."

Tsukasa smiled at her craftily, tapping his finger on her nose, "This means you work for me. Haa, haa, haa, you work for me," he exclaimed, throwing back his head and cackling again. Tsukushi stared at him, "this guy! He's like a kid; he goes through so many moods in a space of a few seconds." She looked at him laughing and shook her head slightly. It was as if the rage that had actually terrified her, completely evaporated to nothing.

He still had that crafty look on his face, one Tsukushi did not appreciate, "This means, basically, I control you," he said, giving her a superior look.

Tsukushi glared at him but said nothing, merely waiting to hear what idiocy was going to come out of his mouth. He crossed his arms over his chest, "So I tell you to stop dating Hiro and you do it or your job," he stopped and then gave a shrug, "and probably his are dust."

Well, she hadn't waited for nothing. She batted his finger off her nose and started walking towards the elevators, mad at herself for being scared of this fool.

"Hey," came a shout from behind her, "didn't you hear what I said?" Tsukasa ran to catch up with her, "You stop dating Hiro and-OW!" Tsukasa screeched as Tsukushi slapped him upside the head and then gave him her right hook. He was so surprised he fell, landing flat on his ass.

Tsukushi pressed the elevator up button and then looked down at him, hands on her hips. "You want me to do something," she asked mildly.

Tsukasa looked at her warily but slowly nodded.

"You want me to stop 'dating Hiro' as you said?"

Tsukasa nodded again, unsure of her calm tone.

"So you blackmail me and tell me that my job and that of Hiro's is in jeopardy unless I do what you say? Is that it?"

Tsukasa nodded again, now kind of scared at how gentle she's being.

"Did you really think that was going to work, that I was going to do what you wanted or let you fire me?"

Tsukasa started to nod, then cocked his head as if considering her, and then slowly shook it.

Tsukushi turned away from him, her hair swinging to cover her face. He watched as her shoulders shook; his eyes widened, "is she crying?"

Tsukasa stood up, "Tsukushi," he began beseechingly and then stopped as she turned to face him. Her face was set in a mask but her eyes looked suspiciously bright. Tsukasa froze unable to do anything.

At that moment a bell sounded; they both looked up, the elevator doors opened. Akira looked at them in surprise, "I was coming to see you Tsukasa," he said. He turned to Tsukushi who walked into the elevator silently followed by Tsukasa.

"Hello, Tsukushi."

Tsukushi nodded her head politely but turned to face the elevator doors as they closed, still silent.

"Are you ok," asked Tsukasa, worried as to why she was still quiet. In his experience, Makino Tsukushi was NOT quiet and this response was really starting to get him nervous.

Akira looked a bit pissed off, "Tsukasa you didn't even-"

"Akira not now," Tsukasa bit out and turned back to Tsukushi. "Look, talk to me! Yell at me, whatever. But tell me what's wrong," he said sounding frantic but she refused to move her gaze from the doors. Akira watched the exchange in rapt fascination.

Tsukasa's hand went out to grab her to force her to look at him but the elevator stopped at the 17th floor. The doors opened silently; Tsukushi nodded to Akira again and then looked at Tsukasa. Tsukasa flinched at the bright look that was still in her eyes; Tsukushi turned and silently left the elevator. As the doors closed, Tsukasa slumped against the wall with a groan, closing his eyes in dejection.

"I don't believe it!" Tsukasa looked up to see Akira right in front of him, eyeing him in amazement. "I thought you were merely annoyed by her since she was the first to stand up to you. That your puerile mind was after revenge."

Tsukasa didn't say anything, watching Akira with blank eyes. Akira continued, "But that's not it at all," he looked at Tsukasa with absolute amazement, "you like her!" Tsukasa sighed which tickled Akira even more. He placed a hand on Tsukasa's shoulder, "Come on, admit," Akira said with twinkling eyes, "admit that you like her."

"Ikehr."

"What," Akira asked, confused.

"I like her," mumbled Tsukasa.

Akira took a step back and had to take out his handkerchief to wipe his unexpectedly moist eyes, "To think this day would finally come!" He jumped on top of Tsukasa, squeezing him in a hug, "Oh, your brother is so happy for you!"

"Akira."

"Yes?"

"Get the hell off me, you're scaring my section."

Akira looked up to see that the elevator had stopped at Tsukasa's floor and people had stopped to look at the male bonding taking place in the elevator. "Oh," he quickly released Tsukasa who started walking to his office.

"I clearly see you two are having problems though," Akira said trailing behind Tsukasa. "Tell me what happened and I'll help," Akira said with a confident grin walking with Tsukasa into his office.

Five minutes later, the entire section heard the usually quiet Mimisaki-san screech, "YOU SAID WHAT TO HER?!?"

Tsukushi waited for the elevator to leave before she gave into the emotions crowding her: she let out a peal of laughter.

When he had said that she needed to stop dating Hiro or he would fire the both of them, the first overwhelming emotion she felt had been rage; she wanted to kick him into the next time zone. But after that first, incredibly satisfying smack to his head, something suddenly clicked in her mind: she felt alive. The vague ickyness that had plagued her since Fiji was gone; it was as if she felt every cell in her body awakening.

"Of course it's got nothing to do with him," she thought, "I merely enjoy a good fight."

She continued to chuckle as she made her way back to her cubicle. After apologizing to Megumi for her delayed absence, Tsukushi resumed her work, but thoughts of Tsukasa still swam through her mind. He had been very anxious about her in the elevator; if it had been anyone else, Tsukushi would have felt bad.

But with Tsukasa, Tsukushi gave a small grin, it was so easy to be bad.

* * *

Evil Tsukushi, playing with Tsukasa like that! Though he does deserve it......

Thanks for reading! Ja ne!


	8. Tea party in the evening

Disclaimer: I don't own HYD (cuz if I had, it would never have ended.)

* * *

Tsukushi put her pen down on her desk and stretched her arms above her head; it was well after the end of the work day and she was one of the few left on the floor.

"Stupid Tsukasa," she thought grumpily; since he had wasted so much of her time this afternoon, she had felt guilty returning to work so late and subsequently stayed behind to catch up on her projects. It was only the beginning of her internship and she couldn't afford to be delinquent regarding her work.

She dropped her arms on her desk and gave a sigh, time to go home, she thought. Tsukushi logged off her computer and opened her bottom drawer to fish out her bag and sneakers.

"Hey, Tsukushi-chan."

Tsukushi looked up to see Akira heading down her row. She stood up, gathering her stuff.

"Mimisaka-san, what are you doing here," she asked politely, but still preparing to leave.

Akira sauntered up and lounged carelessly on the desk of the cubicle next to her. "You can call me Akira."

He placed his arms over the divider between the cubicles and watched her. "I came to see if you needed a ride home from here."

Tsukushi looked up in surprise; Akira continued, "You live near TU?" Tsukushi nodded, "At the dorms on campus. But you don't need to take me, the train drops me off right there," she said.

Akira waved his hand dismissing her words and somehow managed to sweep Tsukushi towards the elevator before she even realized it.

"Don't worry about it, I have no commitments tonight." He paused in thought for a bit, "or at least not until much later."

He brightened and smiled down seductively at her, "So you can come for some tea with me."

* * *

Sometime later Tsukushi found herself seated in a trendy coffee shop, nothing like the ones around the school or any that she had ever been to. The after work crush was dissipating and the booths around theirs were mostly empty.

"Why did you want to speak with me," she asked Akira a bit apprehensive, unsure of why Tsukasa's friend had asked her for tea.

"I'll explain," he began, but was interrupted by the server coming with their orders.

Tsukushi's eyes widened in delight as she took in the chocolate parfait placed before her. Akira watched her spoon some into her mouth in concealed disgust. Tsukushi looked up to see his eyes on her.

"What," she asked defensively, "its good!" Tsukushi made a face at his order, "Whatever, you just have no imagination-ugh, green tea."

Akira looked at her in surprise and then gave a small chuckle. "I can see why Tsukasa likes you so much."

He braced his arms on the table and leaned in, "You say what you think, you don't play games and there are no ulterior motives are there?" He nodded his head as if the questions were a statement and slowly took a sip from his tea.

Tsukushi licked the back of her spoon while gazing at him thoughtfully. "Is that what your…and his, lives are like? People coming to you with hidden objectives?"

Akira nodded his head, "Yeah, pretty much."

He paused to take another sip of his teaand then placed it carefully before him. "We all grew up like that. I don't think you know, but there are four of us that grew up together: Tsukasa, myself and two others, Soujiro and Rui. They're in America in training for their own family companies. But yeah, since we were little its been like this-people wanting to know us for our family connections, trying to get to our fathers through us, girls running after us for our money."

He looked at her, "Tsukasa has had it the worst of all of us. His family is a powerhouse, not only here but in Europe, the States, you name it. Because of it he can't trust anyone besides us-I mean, how do you know why someone wants to know you? Is it for yourself, or for what you can do for them?"

He took another sip of his tea and continued, "He especially had a hard time when he was young. Tsukasa didn't know how to ask others to play with him, he just ordered the other kids around."

Akira rolled his eyes in remembrance, "You can imagine how that went with a bunch of spoiled four year olds. For the longest time he was alone; then he met Soujiro, me and then Rui: we were our only friends."

Tsukushi swallowed, feeling a lump in her throat and dropped her head down. Akira painted a vivid picture of Tsukasa; she could see him, young, unsure of who to trust and in the end, staying unto himself. During the Fiji trip she had noticed that; even when surrounded by people, he somehow remained alone.

Akira stirred his tea with his spoon, staring into its black depths. "He never did learn how to express himself and can only respond with violence. We always worry about him, and as the years go, he gets more and more violent with nothing to stand in his way."

He looked up with a grin lightening the air between them, "Until he met you Tsukushi."

Tsukushi shook her head, "Oh, no, don't even think it."

Akira placed his hands on the table, leaning in closer, "Come on, I've never seen him like this and I've been with him practically his whole life! Dump Hiro and just try being with him for a bit," Akira pleaded.

Tsukushi opened her mouth to reply when she caught sight of an object much like a swimmer seeing a shark's fin. She turned to Akira with a dark glare, "Mimisaka-san, did you set me up?"

Akira, startled at the abrupt accusation, glanced around then turned to her with a shifty look.

"Its Akira. Why do you say that," he asked extremely pleasantly.

Tsukushi compressed her lips and merely pointed through the glass separating them from them from the next booth.

Akira turned to see someone hiding behind an enormous menu; the identity of the person could be readily ascertained by the unruly curls that could be seen over the top of the menu.

Akira stood up and tore the menu away from Tsukasa's startled face, "Tsukasa, what the hell are you doing? I said I would talk to her and then text you when to come!"

Tsukasa also jumped up and thrust his face over the glass, "Yeah, well, you were taking too long! I didn't know what was happening!"

He gave Akira a look full of suspicion, "Then again, I was worried since she's with such a pervert."

Akira made a face, "Tsukasa! What the hell-that's something Soujiro would do not me." He turned to give Tsukushi a slightly disgusted look. "Trust me, I would not be interested in her."

It was Tsukushi's turn to be pissed off, "Hey what's wrong with me?"

Tsukasa absently patted her on the head while glaring daggers at his friend, "Nothing, you're perfect just as you are."

Akira and Tsukushi both looked at him with wide eyes. Tsukushi picked her jaw up from the floor and raised a hand to feel his head. "He doesn't feel feverish," she said looking at Akira, who was trying to stifle his laughter.

Tsukasa looked as if he was about to explode, when he suddenly went still.

Feeling his large, warm hand covering hers on his head, Tsukushi turned back to him.

"Hey, does this mean you're talking to me again," Tsukasa asked, his voice husky.

Tsukushi dropped her eyes and started tugging her hand from his grip but he didn't release her.

"Hey," Tsukasa questioned softly.

Tsukushi looked up into his eyes; when she had first met him, she had thought he had cold eyes, the eyes of snake looking for a target and a time to strike. But as she looked at him now, she saw warmth in his gaze, his eyes no longer the empty shell she had once thought.

"Yes," she said softly.

Tsukasa started grinning like an idiot during which Tsukushi drew her hand back from his grip.

She sank back down into her seat in the booth. "What have I done," she thought, her mind whirling. "I only said that I forgave him but why does this feel as if I made a huge announcement."

But as she looked up, she saw Tsukasa dancing his way down the aisle to their booth his joy very evident. "Baka," she thought smiling, "he's this happy that I'm talking to him."

"Move," he said, shoving Akira to the side and settling himself directly across from Tsukushi. He continued to smirk at her making Tsukushi blush slightly.

Akira watched them, silently observing Tsukasa's grin and Tsukushi's embarrassment. "I cannot WAIT to spill with Rui and Soujiro," Akira thought in excitement. "They'll never believe it!"

However, the expression on his face when he spoke was of complete composure. "So," he drawled attracting the couple's attention, "when are you guys going out?"

They gaped at him and then glanced at each other. And became beet red.

Akira leaned his arm and down; if this idiotic couple were ever going to get together, they would seriously need his help. Good thing he was currently in between women.

"Akira," Tsukasa started to growl.

Akira held up his hands, "I'm just saying, she should stop dating Hiro and start dating you. Or date both of you at the same time."

Tsukushi who had been uneasily inspecting Tsukasa while Akira spoke, glared at Akira after the last sentence. "Mimisaka-san! What do you think I am-"

Tuskushi didn't get to finish as Tsukasa had smacked him on the head.

"This is why you and Soujirou get into so much trouble! You both think like perverts! What's the point of a relationship if you're going to be with someone else?" Tsukasa demanded.

"Ow!" Akira yelled, rubbing his head. "I was just saying that she should start seeing you seriously," he defended himself. Tsukasa considered this statemtn and then nodded.

They turned to Tsukushi and said in unison, "You need to stop dating Hiro!"

Tsukushi hid a smile and bent her head towards her melted parfait. Slowly swirling the spoon in the dish, she glanced up to see them observing her intently.

"Well," she began musingly, "that's a really hard request."

Tsukasa felt his heart sinking downwards.

"Tsukushi-" Akira exploded but stopped as he felt Tsukasa's hand on his arm. He turned to his friend, but Tsukasa was staring only at Tsukushi.

"I mean Hiro and I have known each other since college. That's a history right there," she pointed out with her spoon.

Tsukasa stared straight at her, his face an expressionless mask. "How would Hiro feel if I said, 'Hiro let's break up?'"

She tapped her spoon against her lips as if imagining his reaction and then grimaced as if rejecting that idea.

Tsukasa felt his twisted guts give a painful wrench and tore his eyes away from her.

"Of course, it would be hard to break up with Hiro since I've never dated him in the first place."

With all the blood rushing through his ears, Tsukasa wasn't sure at first if had heard right or not. He slowly turned back towards her.

"Dated, sleeping with, friends with benefits whatever it is you guys are doing. I'm sure you and Tsukasa are better suited," Akira said waving Hiro aside as if he were a speck of dust.

He didn't notice the small tower of inferno before him until it was too late. Tsukushi clobbered Akira on the head with her messenger bag.

"You are such a hentai! Can't two people be friends without sleeping together! I'm a virgin you jackass," she yelled.

She smacked Tsukasa in the head as well, "And this is for you for being friends with such a pervert." She stormed out of the booth as Akira watched rubbing his tender head for the second time that night.

He winced, "And you like that girl?"

Nothing.

Akira looked at Tsukasa who sat staring straight ahead as if turned to stone.

"Tsukasa? Oi Tsukasa," Akira shouted in his ear, "Tsukushi just left you moron!"

"Ow!" Tsukasa clapped a hand to his ear, "Do you want to die! Don't yell in my ear!"

Akira rolled his eyes and pointed towards the door, "Are you going to get her or not?"

Tsukushi furiously stormed down the street towards the train station. "Where the hell do they get off! Is that what relationships are in their world? Just sex buddies," she thought angry at herself for even telling them that she wasn't dating Hiro.

"But Tsukasa doesn't think like that," snaked a traitorous thought through her mind. Tsukushi slowed down, "He was mad at Akira for suggesting that I date the both of them, she mused.

Two arms suddenly wrapped themselves around her waist and she was lifted back against a hard, warm body. Frozen at first, Tsukushi sagged with relief as she recognized the smell enveloping her.

Tsukasa stroked his face against her hair; gently he dipped his mouth down to her ear.

"Makino Tsukushi will you go on a date with me?"

* * *

A/N: wow-two months since the last update, its like coming back from the dead!

I'm sorry minna that it took me soo long to get working again. I really want to try and finish this before winter ends here (kind of symbolic no?) and to that end, I'm going to try and get more writing in. Sadly, this might mean that the editing will be a little substandard-but we'll see (I'm OCD so hopefully that'll kick in).

Hope everyone is enjoying the fic-its progressing slow I know, but I want to try and keep them as much IC as possible and such is their relationship (sigh). Here's to the upcoming weekend and bishies everywhere! Cheers!


	9. I don't think this counts as a date

Disclaimer: I don't own Hana Yori Dango, more's the pity.

* * *

Tsukushi lay in her bed gazing out through the window above her. The dark blue night had swirls of purple cloud painted throughout with tiny stars peeking through to shine down. Her mind ran through the night's events, slowly coming to a full stop when Tsukasa had asked her out.

She closed her eyes.

She could still feel the warmth of his arms surrounding her, holding her, as he whispered in her ear. A shiver went through her as she relived the sensations of his words tickling the skin on the nape of her neck. She had turned around slowly to face him, only to find him staring intensely down at her.

"Go out with me Tsukushi," he said, his arms tightening around her body. She looked up at him; for the longest moment all she could see was him, all that she could feel was the heat from his body.

Quietly, she plucked his arms off from around her; he tightened them briefly in resistance, then let her go. "I have to go home," she spoke softly, turning away from him. Tsukasa watched her walking away and clenched his fists.

"Keep going, don't look back," Tsukushi kept repeating in her head.

"Hey, what is this," Tsukasa started, jogging a bit to catch up with her.

"Look, tea was one thing but I can't do this. I'm not mad at you anymore but that doesn't mean I can date you," Tsukushi said, walking urgently towards the train station.

Tsukasa grabbed her arm forcing her to stop and look at him. "Well at least let me drive you home," he said, tugging her towards the opposite direction.

"You really don't have-"

"Baka onna, its late! I'm not letting you get on a train now." He tightened his grip on her arm and forced her towards his car, ignoring her persistent grumblings.

Tsukushi was kept busy during the ride to TU alternately holding onto her seatbelt for dear life and hollering at him to learn how to drive, both blatantly ignoring the questions hovering in the air between them.

As they neared TU, Tsukushi gave him the directions for the main gate. "I can take you right outside your dorm," Tsukasa complained. "No, this is fine," she said, undoing her seatbelt. His hand descended down on her own, forcing her to stop; she looked up at him.

He flicked her in the head with his finger; "Ouch!" she exclaimed, rubbing her head.

"That's for letting me think you and Hiro were together," he said.

Tsukushi halted mid-rub, alarm bells ringing in her head warning of danger. She hurriedly pulled her bag from the floor and opened her door. "Thanks for the tea and the ride."

"I'm glad you're not going out with him," she heard softly before she fled to her dorm.

She turned in her bed, tucking her hand beneath her head. She had run from him as fast as when he had chased her at the office; she had felt her mind screaming at her not to stay-to have lingered a moment longer, either in his arms or in the car would have committed her. And that scared her, because _it_ was a something she would never have control over: he was something she could not handle.

* * *

The next morning Tsukushi left the warmth of her dorm to face a tragically cold day. She was heavy eyed from her lack of sleep and completely blamed Doumyouji Tsukasa for her predicament.

"Baka, making my worry about things like this when I have to go to work," she fumed while making her way towards the train station. She shook her head briskly in an attempt to clear her head from the sleepy fog enveloping her.

"This is not the time to worry about him-I have work I need to do," she said to herself firmly, "Don't get distracted Tsukushi, don't get distracted," stomping with new vigor to the entrance of the train station. She boarded the train with fresh fire dancing in her eyes.

As she exited the train station near the D. Corp offices in a rush of new energy and determination, Tsukushi barely missed colliding with a gaggle of women who were flocked together whispering about something. Tsukushi eyed them curiously, wondering what they were twittering about and peered around them to see.

Before her stood a tall man pacing back and forth in front of the train station. He appeared to be looking for someone but with such a scowl etched on his features, it was to be hoped for the missing person that she remained unfound.

"Kuso," she cursed, it had to start this early. She marched straight up towards him, though he hadn't even noticed her yet since he was too busy scowling at a pack of schoolgirls to his right.

"Idiot, stop scaring those poor girls! They probably think you're yakuza," she yelled, startling him. "What are you even doing here?" she asked, her hands on her hips as she glared at him, annoyed at having to deal with him so early in the morning.

"I was waiting for you, crazy woman!" he stated, "I've been here the whole morning thinking this was your stop."

Tsukushi looked confused, "But why?"

He looked down, then around and then cleared his throat. "I wanted to see if you changed your mind."

"What?" Tsukushi asked even more confused. Tsukasa glared at her, red in the face, "Baka, about going on a date with me!"

Tsukushi rolled her eyes, "Because you know, yelling at me is going to work." She started forward moving in the direction of D. Corp.

"Hey," he shouted after her, "where are you going?"

She threw her head over her shoulder, "I have to get to work and it's cold out here," she said, not even breaking her stride.

She heard hard footsteps behind her until he had come abreast of her. She stopped; he turned to her in surprise, "Now what?"

"I can't walk with you! People will notice," she exclaimed.

Tsukasa had a bored look on his face, "So?" he drawled. "So, they'll think the wrong thing! I'm just an intern, I can't afford to have people think I'm doing the boss!"

Tsukasa didn't say anything for a while, until finally, "Doing the boss," he said in a suggestive tone.

Tsukushi flared up, "Hentai! No way, you walk in front of me," she said, pushing him in front of her and then moving back about five paces.

"You're crazy; who cares if people see us together. That's our business," he said but complied with her wishes and began walking toward the huge high rise.

Tsukushi shook her head; he was the son of not her division, not even the son of the head of operations in Japan, but the son of the HEAD OF THE CORPORATION and she was just a college student! Being seen with him would only gain her notoriety, rumors she was utterly unprepared to deal with when her main goal was to finish her internship and then school.

She stared at his broad back as he walked in front of her; "So you came to the train station to find me," she asked.

"Yeah, since I dropped you off outside the school, I didn't know where to pick you up this morning so I came here."

"You were going to pick me up?"

"Well I wanted to see you," he said, causing Tsukushi to stare at his back. He seemed…hesitant, as if he was actually somewhat anxious about what she would say.

Tsukushi sighed, "Look, I don't know what you're really thinking, but I'm not going to become involved with you. You complicate my life-I'm here to work and then graduate," she finished.

"What complicate your life? What about me? Here I am chasing this poor commoner who doesn't even realize her good fortune to be seen with me," he said arrogantly.

Tsukushi looked up at the sky for divine intervention. "I understand that you might see me as a novelty, as some new toy that actually yells back at you; but I'm not. Seriously, stop," she said, striding past him to the D. Corp. building.

"What? I don't think you're a book at all," he shouted after her.

Tsukushi forced herself not to smile and hurried forward, "Get a grip Tsukushi! This is too important to your career to let someone distract you," she scolded herself. "Work. That's what you're here for remember? Remember Mama and Papa and Susumu? Just do your work," she chanted in her head, not allowing herself to turn around to look at him.

* * *

Tsukushi was engrossed in the column of figures in front of her, when she realized that general hum of the floor had instantly silenced. She looked up to see Megumi half rising from her chair, eyes glued to the front of the room. Tsukushi followed her gaze to see Tsukasa walking beside her nervous looking manager.

Tsukushi's brows snapped together, "What the hell is he doing," she thought. Her eyes followed their progress, though he didn't look anywhere else, seemingly occupied by the manager's comments. They walked into her manger's office and shut the door; this action seemed to dispel the abrupt quiet permeating the floor as everyone went back to work. Except Tsukushi, who continued to look towards the two men behind the glass that separated the manager's office from the rest of the floor. "I wonder what he's doing here," Megumi mused before also returning to her work.

Tsukushi barely heard her as she was still absorbed by the two men behind the glass. After several moments had passed by with no change, Tsukushi started to drop her head back to her work, thinking Tsukasa had actual reasons to be here when he turned to look through the window. Directly at her. Tsukushi gave a slight gasp, how did he know where her desk was?

He smirked at her through the glass; Tsukushi scowled at him. His smirk grew even bigger and Tsukasa started wagging his brows at her. Tsukushi stuck her tongue out at him.

"Tsukushi-chan! What's wrong," Megumi asked next to her, startled to see Tsukushi out of her seat with her tongue stuck out of her mouth. Tsukushi blushed bright red and half-dropped into her seat. "Nothing. I had something on my tongue," she said spitting a little.

She looked back to see Tsukasa laughing hysterically as her manager looked at him in alarm.

She gave a chuckle as Tsukasa was suddenly shaken by her manager who apparently had thought Tsukasa was having a fit. Tsukasa erupted and started yelling at the poor man who turned red and then burst into tears.

Laughing, Tsukushi shook her head and turned back to her work, surprised to find her mood had lightened considerable.

* * *

Tsukushi laid her head on her desk with a groan. Right after lunch, work had seemed to explode around her so that she had worked non-stop until Megumi reminded her that the workday had ended.

"I don't think I have strength to even think of making Ramen," Tsukushi thought, blearily lifting her head from her desk to attempt to somehow get herself home.

Quite a handful of the department were also gathering their belongings on the way out when the elevator doors opened to let someone onto the floor. Tsukushi gave a cursory glance and then did a double take; Akira was walking toward her, drawing the interested stares of the remaining people on the floor.

"What are you doing here," she asked bluntly as he drew up alongside her.

He smirked at her, "Well hard working virgin, I came to see if you wanted dinner." Tsukushi blanched a little, "You did?"

Akira carelessly moved a stack of papers on her desk to lounge on its edge and turned to look at her, "Well not me per se. Tsukasa's moody and I thought dinner with you would change it."

Tsukushi snorted, "So basically you want to sell me to him so he won't hurt you."

"You say that like self preservation is a bad thing." He folded his arms over his chest, "You have the heir of the Doumyouji Empire after you. I've never seen him like this-when I mentioned asking you to dinner he was like, like…" Akira faltered pondering the right comparison.

"Like a puppy dog," Tsukushi blurted out. Akira's eyes widened and then he burst into laughter. "You said…you said puppy dog," he repeated between his laughter.

Tsukushi ignored him and sat down in her chair. Thoughts, memories and words were rushing through her head. Tsukasa had been in her life for no longer than two months and yet he had now come to dominate it. She knew that had it been another person, with what he had done to her in the past, it would have been all over. And yet Tsukasa was still in her life…and she let him. This morning, she had been determined to phase him from her life, to not allow him to occupy her thoughts. But it was only when he had come onto the floor, when she had seen him again, seen that stupid smirk of his, her heart had laughed. Here it was now, the end of a long day and she was tired and not a little sleepy, when the thought of meeting someone for dinner was more a chore than entertainment and yet… Tsukushi tapped a finger to her lips, "And yet… I want to go. I want to see him I think," she said softly. She turned to Akira, who was still laughing.

"Must tell Rui and S-S-Soujiro," he wheezed still laughing, "Puppy…Tsukasa…puppy dog…" Tsukushi rolled her eyes, "Oh stop. Come on, let's go."

They walked to the elevators, Akira still convulsing with laughter.

On the way down, Tsukushi was surprised to see them pass Tsukasa's floor, "Aren't we going to stop," she asked pointing to the button panel.

"Tsukasa said you have some asinine notion the office people can't see you with him," Akira drawled, "so we're going to meet him at the restaurant." Tsukushi was stunned; he had actually noticed her feelings on the subject and sent his friend to get her.

She swallowed, "And you came for me? You guys really are good friends."

Akira shrugged, "We're brothers," he said simply.

Tsukushi smiled before Akira continued, "Besides there are very few people as good looking and as rich as us-to be friends with ordinary people would be too sad for them." Tsukushi laughed, "You guys are freaks."

By normal standards a dinner where all the parties involved kept bickering and sniping at each other should not have been an enjoyable event, but Tsukushi loved it. After she and Akira had arrived at the restaurant, they were escorted to the table where Tsukasa was seated. He then proceeded to badger Akira, telling him to leave; Akira, who was still between girlfriends, refused to leave stating that if he left them alone, Tsukasa would somehow mess things up. Tsukushi interrupted saying there was nothing to mess up, which started Tsukasa off. This continued all throughout dinner making the waiter look like he was getting indigestion. After Tsukushi finished her tiramisu, Tsukasa had sarcastically asked if Akira wanted to join them on the ride home. As Akira perked up at this, Tsukasa dragged a laughing Tsukushi quickly from the restaurant shouting that Akira needed to get a life.

As Tsukasa drove to TU, he turned to Tsukushi, "So when are we going on that date?"

Tsukushi, pleasantly full and warm in the luxury of his car, turned her head lazily in his direction, "I think we just had one."

He scoffed, "That wasn't a date! Akira was there."

Tsukushi smiled, "Yeah, but it was still a date."

The car drew up silently to the main gate at TU; Tsukasa put the car in park and turned fully towards her with a dubious look on his face. "I don't think it counts as a date when there's three people there," he complained. "From what I read, a date is with two people; unless it's a double date when there's two couples."

Tsukushi's eyes widened, "You read something about dating?" she asked incredulously.

Tsukasa, aware of his mistake, quickly closed his mouth but Tsukushi understood. "Wait, you've never been on a date before have you," she asked and received her answer when she saw color appear on his cheekbones. She tried to hide her chuckles behind her hand. Unsuccessfully.

"Haha," Tsukasa muttered, his face turning forward, the red deepening on his face. "I don't want to be with some fake woman who only cares that I'm a Doumyouji. I've been surrounded my whole life by people like that; why spend more time with that type of garbage.

Tsukushi stopped laughing, stricken by his words, "Oh Tsukasa. I'm sorry-" she halted as he suddenly faced her.

"Say that again."

"What," she asked, confused by the fervor in his face.

"My name," he said softly drawing in near.

She moistened her lips, "Tsukasa," she murmured. Tsukasa's eyes darkened, the pupils constricting. In one swift motion, he released her from her seat belt and swept his hands along her jaw, dragging her face closer to his.

"Tsukasa, Tsukasa, Tsukas-" she whispered before his lips swallowed the rest of her words.

After a long, breathless interlude, he lifted his head up and rested his forehead against hers, their noses touching. Releasing a pent-up breath, he gently rubbed his nose against hers.

"I like you," he said softly. Tsukushi, who hadn't even realized her eyes were closed, opened them.

Tsukasa lifted his head up and moved one hand to cup the side of her face tenderly. "I like you, I like you more than any other woman. Ever," he said.

Tsukushi looked up at him dazed. "But do I like him?" she thought. "He steamrolled his way into my life, he pulls me along with him regardless of what I want to do. I shouldn't like him at all……but I just let him kiss me. What does that mean?"

His eyes bored into her, "Don't you have something to tell me?" he asked sounding a bit annoyed.

Tsukushi shrugged her shoulders, "You're all right I guess," she said wrinkling her nose as in contradiction to her statement.

Tsukasa's eyebrows twitched, "Hey! What the hell kind of answer is that?"

His arms came up as if he wanted to shake sense into her but Tsukushi quickly moved forward and blew a raspberry on his cheekbone. Taking advantage of his stunned countenance, she grabbed her bag and scrambled out of the car.

"Thanks for the ride," she chirped before slamming the door and rushing up the path. "He is _such_ a baka," she thought smiling, his frozen face still in her mind when she heard his car slowly pull away.

She turned to watch him leave when suddenly she was wrenched around by her upper arms. Her heart froze in her chest until she recognized the person who had grabbed her.

"Tsukushi! Who the hell was that," Hiro exclaimed an unfamiliar scowl etched onto his handsome face.

* * *

A/N: OHG, I am so sorry minna! RL totally drove me crazy for the last 8(freak, its been THAT long!) months! But on a positive note, I just finished my 2nd licensing exam-4 more months of school left XD

Anyway, thanks to everyone who is still with me, still reading and encouraging me to write, you guys rock socks! I'm crossing my fingers to finish this fic this winter, heehee.

On a different note, this chapter didn't come out as well as I wanted it to-apparently not writing for 8 months ruins the flow of things. Please let me know what you think-constructive criticisms and even flames are welcomed. Besos!


	10. Kisses and Fights

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Yori Dango, thus I bow to the genius of Kamio-sensi

A/N: Be forewarned now-incredibly long chapter ahead, please take a bathroom break here if necessary. If you have great bladder capacity, disregard and please enjoy this installment.

* * *

Last time: "Who is that," asked Hiro.

"Huh," Tsukushi asked intelligently.

"Who were you with," Hiro repeated then continued when he received no answer, "I came down to the floor to see if you wanted a ride I finished early, but someone on your floor said you already left with another man."

Hiro paused, "Are you seeing someone," he asked slowly.

"No! Tsukushi said really fast, " I mean no. It was only uh, the rest of the interns getting together. You know, the TU people in the other departments. We were comparing notes, seeing how things were going."

"Oh," Hiro said sheepishly, visibly relaxing, "Guess I got worried.

"Yeah you did! What, jealous of my social life," Tsukushi teased.

"Hah, that would be a first. Makino Tsukushi, social life," he retorted.

Tsukushi thought, "Oh if you only knew."

"Uh, want to come up for a bit," Tsukushi asked reluctantly, relieved when she saw him shake his head.

"No way, girls dorms now? The RA will probably see me and chew my head off." He paused then grinned, "And with my luck, it will probably be an ex." He waved her inside and turned to leave.

"Good night then," Tsukushi called to him, going inside.

"Whew," she thought, as she swiped her ID card at the entrance to her dorm, she had cut that very closely.

Two Weeks later…

Tsukushi answered the phone on her desk, "Accounts, Makino speaking."

"Tsukushi," said an unfamiliar voice.

She looked at the phone and then placed it back to her ear, "Who is this," she demanded.

"Baka onna, its me!"

"Oh! Oh, I didn't recognize your voice; it sounds so different when you're not yelling."

"Hmmph! Anyway, what are you doing," Tsukasa asked.

Tsukushi smirked, "Working."

"Oh, right. Uh, where do you want to go tonight."

Tsukushi looked around and then lowered her head closer to her desk, "Tsukasa," she whispered urgently, "I can't keep going to dinner with you!"

She paused and admitted in a disgruntled tone, "I think my pants are getting tighter."

She was expecting to hear him crow with laughter or at the very least deliver a sarcastic quip but instead she heard, "Well that's ok. You're damn skinny to begin with- I don't want people to think it's really stressful for you to be with me."

Tsukushi was unable to respond to this and Tsukasa continued, "Besides, its winter-you need to eat to keep from freezing to death."

Tsukushi let out a small giggle, but was touched with his concern for her, "Your thinking is so off." Tsukushi mused, "Ok, umm, I think Akira said he's been wanting Thai."

"Tsukushi," Tsukasa exploded, "We are NOT letting Akira come with us again! We've only been alone once!"

"Well then you need to take him out and find him a woman."

"Why me? Why don't you introduce him to one of your friends?"

"No way! I am not letting him near any of my friends," this last sentence, naturally came out louder than she had expected it to and she saw Megumi shoot her questioning glance.

"Look, I have to go and save money for your company."

"Fine, fine, see you tonight."

"Tonight."

* * *

"Honestly, I can't believe you did it," Tsukushi enthused; she and Tsukasa were sitting in a Thai restaurant actually, but sans Akira. "I mean it was pure genius," she exclaimed, incredibly impressed with Tsukasa.

He preened under her admiration; hell, he figured it might never happen again. "Well, it was simple really; once I realized that the wife of the new venture group we're buying was coming to Tokyo for some shopping, I told the head that we would gladly send her an escort."

"And you sent Akira," Tsukushi finished.

"I haven't seen either of them since lunch after I introduced them," he drawled. "So, what do I get for doing good work?" Tsukushi choked on her bubble tea.

"Get, what get?" She raised her eyebrow suspiciously, "Are you talking about something ecchi?"

"Why do you say ecchi like its dirty? I mean-" Tsukasa stopped as he recognized the gleam in Tsukushi's eye.

"What," he asked a bit hesitantly.

"I have a great idea," Tsukushi said excitedly.

Several moments later………

"What the hell kind of idea is this," Tsukasa demanded, striding forward, shoulders hunched.

Tsukushi hurried to meet his abnormally long stride, "I thought it would be nice! School's not that far away. I mean just to take a walk like normal couples."

Tsukasa snorted, "Do you see any normal couples," he asked, gesturing around him without even breaking his stride. "No. And that's because it's colder than Australia out here!"

"Bakayaro! That's Antarctica," she exclaimed, her breath coming in huffs from attempting to walk in pace with him.

"Whatever! This is still a stupid, middle-class thing to do! Doumyouji's don't walk. Ever," he yelled, stomping forward. He came to a halt quite a few feet later, when he realized that Tsukushi was no longer behind him.

Tsukasa turned abruptly, only to see Tsukushi standing still, head tipped back, seemingly gazing at the night sky.

Unwilling to admit that he had felt panicked at her absence, he thrust his fear into burning anger instead. "What the hell woman! I thought you were behind me," he shouted coming near to her.

Tsukushi kept her eyes on the sky above her. Speaking softly that he didn't almost hear it at first, Tsukasa heard her say, "I know walking is a middle-class thing. But I am middle-class; this is what we do. You take me to all these really nice restaurants and its great-but for once, I wanted to give you a nice time. You drive me home in your car and we're there in minutes. This way, we could spend more time together," Tsukushi stopped, willing the disgusting fullness in her throat to disappear.

She brought her head back, prepared to yell him to the ground. Only to have her nose meet with soft cashmere. Delicious, spicy smelling cashmere.

"What are you doing," she asked muffled as her head remained firmly against Tsukasa's chest.

Tsukasa cleared his throat, "Dumb woman. Its cold out here; your nose will fall off if you're not careful."

Tsukushi gave a muffled giggle; she straightened her head to look up at him to find him peering cautiously down at her.

"Do you want to walk me home," she asked shyly.

"I guess someone has to protect you from your own craziness," he said gruffly, stepping back from her and turning in the direction towards Tokyo University.

Tsukushi's eyes fell, then widened as she felt warm fingers wrap around her hand. She looked up to see Tsukasa grin down at her.

"Haa haa, you said you wanted to spend more time with me," he chortled gleefully as he gently pulled her along.

She looked up at him primly, "Well, you said you wanted something for having taken care of Akira."

"What! You mean everything you said was a lie!"

"Not exactly…"

They were still bickering as they reached the gate in front of Tsukushi's dorm on campus.

"Well," Tsukasa started as they paused to a halt.

Tsukushi looked up at him inquiringly. He bent his head down from his considerable height to be on level with her own.

"Well," Tsukushi breathed, her heart rate speeding up, as she gazed at his mouth, seemingly mesmerized by its shape.

"Since we never have time together…" he paused, inching his mouth closer to her own.

"Mmm," Tsukushi mouthed, feeling her head spin dizzily.

"Come away with me this weekend. I have an island; it will be beautiful now," he said huskily, slowly tasting the corner of her mouth. He dipped his tongue inside, "all warm" slowly sliding his way into the hotness of her, "and wet," he spoke into her mouth.

Tsukushi gave a gasp and he surged forward. She had never felt this rush, this sweet, heady rush before-it was temptation to sink into his luscious warmth.

"Stop, stop," Tsukushi gasped, trying to breathe in air, only to grow giddy from the scent of him.

"No, no," Tsukasa murmured, bending back down. Moments ticked by before Tsukushi, her hands on his hard cheekbones, pushed him from her face. She opened her eyes to find his gleaming down on her.

"You said something…"

"Mmm-hmm," Tsukasa agreed, pushing his head back down, his lips tracing a path along her cheek to the soft skin of her neck.

Tsukushi thought hard, trying, trying to drag her mind from what Tsukasa was doing. Her eyes snapped open, "You said island!" she said, trying to thrust him away. It was like pushing a rock.

"Yeah, an island in the Pacific.

"You own an island," she asked.

"Yes," he replied impatiently, "a couple of them."

"But, but," Tsukushi spluttered, once again shocked by the sheer amount of wealth this man possessed.

Tsukasa took advantage of her surprise and moved in to capture her lips. Again, minutes went by before Tsukushi again gently pushed his face from hers. "Wait, I have to think about this," she said as Tsukasa leaned his forehead against hers, drawing in deep breaths.

With great reluctance, Tsukasa drew himself up; Tsukushi felt a pang from the loss of contact.

"Ok, think about it." Giving her another quick kiss, he softly pushed her towards the gate.

"Good night," Tsukushi murmured, turning her head to look at him as she opened the gate.

As Tsukushi went inside, her head buzzing, she heard, "I'll wait for your yes for two days then I'm kidnapping you!"

* * *

Tsukushi passed the next day wrapped in a daze; her mind dwelled on Tsukasa and his plans for the weekend. Lost in her own thoughts, she almost didn't see Hiro waving to her in the cafeteria as she walked right by him.

"Tsukushi! Come sit with us," he gestured to the table full of people from his division.

Tsukushi broke herself from her stupor and turned towards his table, placing her tray in the space kindly created for her.

Hiro exclaimed, "I feel like I haven't seen you in weeks. What, they keeping you as slave labor," he joked.

Tsukushi chuckled, but inside cringed in guilt. She had been avoiding her friends lately.

All her free moments she spent with Tsukasa, attempting to catch up on her schoolwork on the weekends.

Lunch passed by quickly, as Tsukushi and Hiro caught up on the other's activities (all except for a big T activity in Tsukushi's life) and listened to work stories from Hiro, Naoki and their colleagues.

"Oh, I have to go," Tsukushi said, jumping up as she saw the people in her section gathering their things to leave. "OK, but drop by some time or call me up after work," Hiro implored, watching Tsukushi pick up her tray.

"Hai, Hiro-san," Tsukushi said formally, bowing in front of him. She slipped him a cheeky grin and left the table.

Speculative eyes followed her unsuspecting progress; "So," drawled one man not too far from Hiro, "What's this I hear about Tsukushi-chan and her rich friend."

"What are you talking about," asked Hiro, quietly, picking on the other man's tone.

"Don't you know," he replied with hint of maliciousness, "she's seeing Mimisaka Akira. He goes to the 17th floor almost every night and then they leave together."

"Stop spreading rumors. I'm sure Tsukushi-chan is dealing with him on a work matters," Naoki interjected. Tsukushi was only slightly older than his sister Ayumi and he had felt brotherly towards her since Fiji.

"Even if she is dating Mimisaka, what's it to you," another man from their table spoke up.

"Oh, I don't care," drawled the first man getting up, "I'm merely concerned for poor Hiro here. His girl is going after money the first chance she gets."

Hiro jumped up, but the other man quickly exited; Hiro motioned to follow but Naoki placed a restraining hand on his arm.

"Let him go," Naoki said with a scowl in the other man's direction. "You know he's been jealous of your promotion. He's just blowing smoke."

Hiro narrowed his eyes but slowly nodded his head. Naoki, satisfied it was over, slapped Hiro on the back as they walked towards the exit.

* * *

Later that night, after most of the employees of D. Corp. had left, the elevator doors opened to release one last couple.

"But Akira, she's like fifteen years older than you," the girl said laughingly as they walked past the lobby on their way outside.

"But Tsukushi," the man mimicked, "I like it that way." The couple continued, conversing animatedly, unaware of the pair of eyes that watched them.

* * *

Tsukushi chewed the cap of pen; she was still pondering Tsukasa's offer, having staved off his demands for an answer the night before.

Even now, even still, she wasn't absolutely sure about what they were doing. She didn't know what to label him. He wasn't anything like any of her old boyfriends; she snorted, he wasn't anything like anyone else she had ever met. But she felt drawn to him; his stupidity made her laugh, his simple-mindedness offset her own tendency of over analysis.

She enjoyed spending time with him.

For the last two weeks she had spent almost every night with him, willingly. They bickered endlessly but they both had fun. "Which doesn't say that much about our personalities," she thought wryly. But Kami-sami, he was _completely_ different from her!

He was the scion of the Doumyouji Empire, one that went back generations and spanned the globe. He owned islands for mercy's sake! What was he doing with her? Not that she thought he was going to be a playboy and treat her as Akira treated women, but what exactly could happen between them?

He could never bring her to his parents, they would laugh at the common trash; she couldn't bring him home to her parents, he would laugh at them. He would never understand her background or middle-class ways.

Then what were they doing together?

_"Kisses_,_"_ whispered a voice in her head. Tsukushi groaned and pillowed her head on her arms. Damn, but the man was a good kisser; Tsukushi remembered last night and blushed, sinking her head further between her arms. Which was another thing to worry about: thus far, she done more with him than she had with any other guy previously. And they were still at kissing!

What would he expect if they went to his island?

Tsukushi, caught up in this line of thought, failed to notice the shadow next to her. She was at a particularly dangerous interlude involving her, Tsukasa and a coconut-shell bikini when a hand touched her shoulder.

With a barely muffled scream, Tsukushi shot up in her chair, heart pounding against her ribcage.

Hiro smiled down at her, "What were you doing? Napping," he asked.

Tsukushi blushed bright red, "Uh, something like that." She looked up at him curiously,

"Hiro, what are you doing here?"

Hiro rested his arms on the divider of her cubicle and leaned forward, "I wanted to see what you were up to here."

Tsukushi wrinkled her nose, "Oh, working." She grinned, "and napping, I guess."

Hiro gave her a casual smile, "You know I realized we haven't hung out in a really long time."

Tsukushi tried to hide her wince. "I know-"

Hiro interrupted her, "I understand; we all have things going on, right?"

Tsukushi gave him a weak smile and he continued, "But let's do something this weekend. I got a bunch of us on a guest list to the new club opening in Aoyama."

Her heart dropped, "Hiro, I don't think I can make it."

"Why not?" Both Hiro and Tsukushi turned around to see Megumi behind them.

"I have sonic hearing," she said, unapologetic for her blatant eavesdropping. She turned to Tsukushi, "Why can't you go?

"Megumi-san, come with us," Hiro invited.

"Of course, I wasn't going to leave until you asked me too," she said, smiling. They both turned to Tsukushi who sank into her chair.

"Tsukasa," she thought, "what about Tsukasa?"

"I have some schoolwork to catch up on," she lied.

"But its only Friday night, you can do it on Saturday," Hiro frowned. Looking directly at her, he questioned, "Its not that you're avoiding your friends is it?"

Tsukushi gulped, "No," she said hesitantly.

His face cleared, "Good, then its no problem. I'll put you both down on the list for Friday. We're going to start with drinks and then go to the club."

Megumi nodded her head enthusiastically, Tsukushi feebly. After one final, rather piercing look at Tsukushi, Hiro went back to his floor.

Megumi looked delighted, "I heard this club is beautiful," she exclaimed. Tsukushi gave her a wan smile, her mind a jumbled mess of thoughts.

"What do I tell Tsukasa," she thought, her heart sinking.

* * *

That evening, Tsukushi twisted her delicate wine goblet between her fingers; she was still debating how to broach the subject of the weekend. Deciding to be forward, she put down her glass and cleared her throat. Tsukasa was entirely engrossed in his current activity, hacking up his steak to place pieces on her plate and didn't look up.

"Tsukasa," she said, catching his attention, and then stopped. "What," he asked, putting another slice on her plate.

Tsukushi furrowed her brow and tried again, "Ano, Hiro invited me to go to a new club with him and I'm considering it."

"No."

"No? What do you mean no?"

"I mean no, you can't go with him. You're with me which means you're not going out with other guys."

"Tsukasa, its not only me and him, it's a bunch of people."

"It doesn't matter, you're not going because you have better plans with me."

"Tsukasa, I can't ignore my friends; I've spent the last couple of weeks with you and I need to spend some time with them too!"

"Why? They're not as exciting and handsome as me."

"Oh for Kami's sake! I'm merely saying I also have to spend time with other people and Hiro-" Tsukushi stopped as Tsukasa immediately grasped her jaw in his hand.

"Tsukushi," he began quietly, too quietly, "you are with me. You will not go out with other men."

Tsukushi felt her throat constrict; his eyes were as cold and deadly as when they had first met. Swallowing, she said, "You're being unreasonable."

Tsukasa waved this comment off with a flip of his hand, "Hiro will understand."

"He will not listen," Tsukushi thought in despair as Tsukasa started on his steak slices, "his possessiveness refuses to acknowledge I might have a life beyond him. Oh whatever, I'll fight with him about it later," she thought grimly.

"Actually, I won't be able to come this weekend. I have a lot of homework I've been neglecting and I need to catch up on it," she lied, cringing inwardly at the imminent display of bad temper.

Tsukasa chewed on his steak, almost meditatively. He wiped his mouth with his napkin before speaking, "OK. I guess I'll have to change the date."

Tsukushi goggled at him. "That's it? No whining about how I should go or that school should come second to His Highness Doumyouji?"

Tsukasa gave her a withering look, "Doumyouji's do not whine," he stated archly. "Besides, I know school is important to you and that you want to do well."

Tsukushi sat back, a bit stunned by his attitude. "What a mass of contradictions he is," she mused. "He won't hear of me seeing another man, even if it's simply a friend, but he's willing to give up his plans for my education."

"Thanks for the invitation though. I guess you're going to hang out with your family then this weekend," Tsukushi offered as they were served with her dessert and his coffee.

Tsukasa gazed down into her face, "No. None of my family are here in Japan."

"None?" Tsukushi asked astonished.

Tsukasa twisted his mouth into a mockery of a grin, "Nope, I'm the only Doumyouji in residence here. My sister is married and in LA and my parents are both in New York."

"Oh that's nice! Do you visit them often or does your family come here?"

He shook his head, "No, you don't understand. It's not like that-I go for years without seeing my parents."

Tsukushi's eyes widened. She remembered Akira mentioning how hard it was to have friends being as rich as they were; apparently it was equally as difficult to have a family.

"But don't you miss your family," she queried gently.

"We're not a family. We're people held together by the same last name." Here he paused, "Well, I guess not Tsubaki which sucks since she's the only one I care about."

"But Tsukasa," she expostulated, "they're your parents!"

"No. They were people that made sure I was with nannies, with tutors, with servants. They were people that left my sister and me here alone while they were wrapped up in an empire. They are people that expect me to serve lifelong for my name." He carefully put his coffee aside, untouched, and then looked back at her. "They were never parents."

Tsukushi, deaf to the muted hum surrounding them, seemingly lost in the shadows that had abruptly engulfed their table. She could not fathom a life like that, a life such as his-how alone he truly was.

Tsukasa suddenly grinned at Tsukushi's stricken face: "Don't look like that. Your monkey face will get even uglier."

Tsukushi gave a choked giggle.

He pushed his chair back and stood up, "Come on, you shouldn't be late for work tomorrow.

Realizing that he was uncomfortable by all he had shared, she allowed him to gather her up to leave the restaurant. As they left walking side-by-side, she found his hand and threaded her fingers through his, squeezing his hand tightly.

* * *

Friday night, Tsukushi found herself squished between Megumi and Hiro, laughing half-heartedly with the rest of the table. The night had begun about two hours earlier when Hiro had come by her dorms to pick her up. From there they had gone to the bar where they met the rest of their group, mostly workers from D. Corp, with whom they would be going to the club later. Rounds and more rounds had been steadily bought and consumed as everyone enjoyed a well-deserved night out.

Except Tsukushi, who couldn't help but think that it was a bit boring. Her thoughts kept circling back to Tsukasa and what he was probably doing.

"Damn, maybe I do like him," she thought, grinning wryly.

Tsukushi was jolted from her thoughts as Hiro accidentally knocked her while attempting to get their server's attention. "Hey, another beer here," he called out. She turned to him a bit alarmed; Hiro had been drinking heavily through the night, much more than she had ever known him to drink.

"Hiro," she said quietly, under the boisterous conversation all around them, "maybe you should slow down."

Hiro gave her a considering look, one she had never seen from him before, "Maybe I'm trying to find some courage," he said cryptically.

Tsukushi looked confused, "Courage? Courage for what?"

He looked as if he was on the verge of saying something; suddenly, he tweaked her nose and laughed, "Tsukushi, come on! It's the weekend and we're out after a long time! Let me buy you a drink."

Tsukushi weakly nodded her head, relieved that the unfamiliar moment of tension between herself and Hiro had disappeared that she didn't object to the drink.

Eventually, they all left for the club, Tsukushi still worried about Hiro and keeping one eye on him at the head of the group. As they walked towards their destination, she shivered with cold.

Naoki laughed at her, "Now who told you to wear something like that in the dead of winter," he asked, looking at her cute, but extremely impractical outfit. She was wearing a short, layered black miniskirt and a tight red tee with knee high black boots paired with a light denim jacket.

On the other side of him, Megumi similarly lightly clad, laughed as well, "It was me. She was going to wear pants but I told her to wear a skirt."

Naoki looked at her incredulously but Megumi shrugged. "Hey, you're only young once. Might as well catch pneumonia now than later."

They both laughed while Tsukushi stuck her tongue out at them. "Seriously, though, I think its going to snow tonight," Naoki said. Tsukushi shivered again, "That would be my luck!"

When they arrived at the club, there was a huge line there of people waiting, along with a string of high-end sports cars and limos lining the curb. Hiro went up to one of the bouncers, the one with a clipboard and spoke to him for a few moments. Presently, the man nodded his head and Hiro waved everyone inside through the VIP line.

Dropping their outerwear at the coat check counter, the group made their varied way through the foyer of the club amid exclamations of amazement. It was a huge space, decorated in a jungle theme with green vines attached to the ceiling, lantern posts with great globes of fire and every available space decorated with faux animal print and skins.

A heavy drum beat was crashing down from the walls as more people crowded onto the teeming dance floor.

Tsukushi, recovering from her surprise, turned to see the reactions of the rest of the group, only to find herself alone.

"Where did they all go," she thought bewildered. Then she gave a shrug and walked to the bar. "If I wait here long enough, someone will turn up," she thought, placing a hand on the wooden bar edge.

She turned around as she felt her elbow being grabbed; Hiro smiled down at her. "Tsukushi, where is everyone else?"

"I don't know. Maybe to the dance floor; you want to go check," she inquired, starting to move away from the bar.

Hiro placed a restraining hand on her arm, "Later," he said, drawing her back to the bar.

At the entrance to the club, a Hummer limo was idling at the curb as a fierce argument raged inside. "Tsukasa, come on, it will be fun!"

"Fun for you! I hate these things."

"Well, you used to go with me before. Dude, we grew up in a club," Akira exclaimed.

Tsukasa remained fixed against the plush upholstery, arms crossed stubbornly in front of him. "That was then."

"Then? You mean before Tsukushi," Akira teased, wagging his brows. Tsukasa turned his head away and Akira howled with laughter, "Haa, this is great! The great Doumyouji-sama is glued to a girl's heels. O.K., let's go to your place and write poetry about Makino's eyes," he sniggered, seeing Tsukasa's face turn red.

Tsukasa moved from his seat and angrily thrust the door open, "Fine," he grumbled, "let's go."

They were plastered to the bar as the mass around them swelled with more and more people. Hiro placed an arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer to him. Tsukushi kept a fake smile in place, standing stiffly from the embrace of his arm.

"Tsukushi-chan, its been so long since we're hung out," Hiro exclaimed, removing his arm from around her to wave for the bartender.

Tsukushi winced, "I know-"

"Lately though you've been acting strange."

Tsukasa and Akira made their way to the VIP lounge at the back of the club through the throng of people squeezed in the foyer.

"This place is smoking," Akira said admiring a bevy of beautiful ladies.

Tsukasa looked bored and stomped his way to the glass-shielded lounge not bothering to glance around. It was built on a higher level than the rest of the club with one-way mirrors, giving them a great vantage point to view the dance floor and the bar closest to it and had been reserved specifically for them.

"Tsukushi," Hiro slurred a bit, "I know."

"Know what," Tsukushi asked perplexed.

"That you've been seeing Mimisaka Akira. People have been talking about it."

Tsukasa, sprawled on the couch, watched Akira flirt with some woman with scarcely concealed disgust. He had just frightened off two girls who had tried to come on to him only seconds before, shouting that their ugliness made him want to hurl. "I wonder what Makino would have done," he thought a small smile playing on his lips as he thought of her. "Stupid schoolwork," he muttered grumpily; turning, he gazed through the glass in front of him to view the horde below and felt his heart stop.

Tsukushi stared at him stunned, "People have been saying that I'm dating Akira," she questioned slowly.

"I don't understand why. You've never been the type to be impressed by wealth, but now you're together with one of the Fortune Five Hundred."

She lied to him, her, the woman he believed in, had lied to him. His mind turned red with rage and frustrated jealousy. He saw her smiling at Hiro. "She lied to me to be with him," he realized. He could feel blind fury build inside of him until he wanted to rip Hiro apart, he wanted to rip her apart….

Tsukushi smiled weakly though her head was pounding with the information he had told her, "Hiro, you know I'm not like that," she protested.

"Do I? I would have sworn it before, but I saw you the other night leaving with him."

"You spied on me," she asked, aghast at what she was hearing.

"Tsukushi, you are seeing a man completely outside your sphere-he's just playing with you!"

"Hiro," she began hotly.

Suddenly a hand shot out, ripping Hiro from the bar. Tsukushi screamed as a fist came crashing down on Hiro's startled face. Hiro went down, knocked out and the bar broke into a pandemonium of screams and terrified people.

Tsukushi felt a crushing grip on her upper arm; she struggled briefly but went limp as she saw the figure above and was dragged bodily from the club.

Unresisting, she was swept along as a door was flung open and suddenly she was in the bitter cold with the night sky around her and flakes of snow coming down. The punishing hand let go of her, thrusting her forward a few feet in the fallen snow.

She stumbled for a bit but managed to stay upright staring up at the figure opposite her in shock.

"You hit Hiro," she whispered dumbly. She looked up at him with glazed eyes.

Tsukasa glared down at her breathing heavily.

"Why? Why did you hit Hiro," she asked feeling the anger start to come, her hands balling into fists.

He stood, still not answering her, his eyes narrowed into slits. "What the hell," she screamed, flying at him, pushing him in the chest, "what is wrong with you!"

He thrust her back and she staggered but again managed to stay upright.

"Oh so we're back to that hunh? You do whatever the hell you want, beat up anyone, everyone you want," she yelled storming forward.

"Shut up! Shut up," he snarled. "You filthy, dirty whore!"

She fell back as if struck, "Kami-sama," she whispered dropping her head in her hands, "I can't do this. I can't do this. . ."

This more than anything else seemed to infuriate Tsukasa and he wrenched her forward by her arms.

"Who are you to talk you whore? You lied and said you had schoolwork-for what? To be with Hiro, you slut," he roared in her face.

Tsukushi's face went through a violent spasm and again she felt rage shooting through her. "You are an animal," she screamed up at him. You are a bully that still only knows cruelty!"

"Its better than what you do, spread yourself for whatever guy that comes along," he sneered at her, his face twisted.

_Slap! _

He stared down at her, abruptly releasing her from his damaging hold.

"I don't want to see you anymore," she said. "Ever again."

Tsukasa stared down at her then turned on his heel and stormed off.

Tsukushi stood there unable to feel anything, not the biting cold nor the snowflakes dropping gently onto her hair, melting to meet the wetness on her face.

* * *

A/N: Whew! (wipes off sweaty brow) This was so hard to write! First I agonized about all the drama going on-the idea was there, but it's hard for me to write angsty things. Then the length became an issue and I was all shades of agitated trying to decide if I should split it or not.

My undying gratitude to Megami No Ushi, who has unselfishly given her precious free time to inject a note of realism into my little story. Thanks again honey and may you find a darling bishie under a piece of sushi!

By the way, there's a new version of Hana Yori Dango currently on air in Japan! Totally check it out if you can-it's so good! Matsumoto Jun (Tsukasa) and Matsuda Shota (Soujiro)-Kawaii!

Merry Christmas minna and remember, its nice to be good, but its soo delicious to be naughty!


	11. Oh Susumu!

Disclaimer: I don't own HYD, please give credit where its due and worship Kamio-sensei.

* * *

Tsukushi ignored the insistent knocking on her door and threw her covers over her head, burrowing deeper into the bed. 

"Come on, Tsukushi. I know you're in there," came Yuuki's voice, demanding entrance.

With a groan, Tsukushi tossed off her covers and trudged to the door. As she unsnapped the lock, the door flung open, throwing her off balance.

"Tsukushi!" Yuuki exclaimed, rushing forward and grasping Tsukushi by the arms. "Are you ok? Hiro called, sounding worried about you."

Tsukushi gave a deep sigh and wearily rubbed a hand over her face. "I'm fine," she said. She shrugged off Yuuki's hold and sat down on her bed.

Yuuki ran a critical eye over her friend. "You look awful," she remarked bluntly. "What the hell happened yesterday?"

Tsukushi looked through her, eyes glazed.

"I know someone got into a fight with Hiro last night. He said you brought him home and then left. I can't believe someone would hit Hi-"

Tsukushi interrupted her, "It was Tsukasa. The one who hit Hiro was Tsukasa."

Yuuki, shocked, opened then closed her mouth, making no sound. Finally she squeaked, "Tsukasa?"

Tsukushi bent her head. "He saw me and Hiro last night at the club. He…he came out of nowhere and knocked Hiro out." She stopped, swallowing.

"And then?" Yuuki gently shook Tsukushi by her arms. "And then what happened?" she asked worried. She had never seen Tsukushi like this before-she appeared to be devastated.

"I totally forgot," Tsukushi said, shaking her head. "I forgot what he was. What an animal he was."

"But he didn't do anything to you?"

"No. He called me names. Said that I was cheating on him with Hiro." Tsukushi looked up at her friend, imploring her to understand. "He hit Hiro, Yuuki. He was insanely angry but all he needed to do was talk to me." She stopped again. Yuuki waited silently for her to continue.

After a moment she began quietly, "I thought that he was changing. That he-" her voice broke abruptly.

"That he liked you enough to change," Yuuki finished for her. "But Tsukushi," she said gently, "you told me that you lied to him about studying. I think that might be why he was so mad."

"Does he have to go to such extremes?" Tsukushi demanded, suddenly angered. "Is this what is always going to happen. I do something wrong or what he perceives is wrong and he loses his temper?"

"I know I lied to him Yuuki, but can't we resolve situations in a normal way," she spat bitterly. She was furious with him and with herself for daring to believe he could be anything than what he was: an arrogant bastard with violence stamped into his soul.

"Tsukushi, umm, I think you're being too hard on him." Yuuki said hesitantly, appalled at the hostility etched into her friend's face. "He overreacted but-"

"No Yuuki." Tsukushi said firmly. She sat up and straightened her shoulders. "I was an idiot to even talk to Doumyouji Tsukasa. I'm finished with him," she ended with harsh conviction.

* * *

Tsukushi shivered under the layers of clothing she was wearing. A bitter cold snap was moving through Tokyo, freezing everything in its path. The snow that had fallen Friday night was crusted over onto the landscape, creating a bleak, gray world. But it was not only the cold that had Tsukushi shivering. She had severe trepidations over what she would find upon entering Doumyouji Corp. She feared the extent of Tsukasa's rage and what he would do at work to jeopardize her friends or herself. 

"How could I have forgotten what he was?" she scolded herself. She had allowed him into her life forgetting that he was a rich brat with no morals or scruples. He was stubborn and unyielding and now, enraged. Muttering a silent prayer she trudged past the main doors of the D. Corp. offices. "So far, so good," she thought, entering the elevator without any gun-toting security guards waiting for her.

Her anxiety increased with each floor she ascended. "What if he booby-trapped the desk? Kami, what if he booby-trapped this elevator!"

_Ding!_ Tsukushi carefully backed out of the elevator and made her way down her row of cubicles. She replied back to the chorus of "Ohayo," feeling each step towards her desk as a leaden weight. Approaching her desk with the utmost caution, she eyed her benign appearing cubicle. Gingerly she sat down in her chair; encouraged by the lack of knives, bullets or cream pies, she turned on her computer. With a soft whirr it turned on, booting up to her normal screen. Still suspicious, she looked carefully around her: all the other cubicles were occupied or in the process of, with a distinct lack of any imminent danger.

"Huh," Tsukushi breathed, puzzled.

* * *

Wearily, Tsukushi slammed her door behind her. Dropping her bag to the floor, she fell back onto the bed, still in her coat and scarf. She had spent the whole day in a froth of anxiety, waiting for a sneak attack from all corners, only to have the day pass uneventfully. She hadn't seen nor heard from him the entire day. 

"And that's what you said to him," she reinforced to herself stoutly, "that you never wanted to see him again." Then why did she feel utterly miserable when she thought of him. Why was-

The sudden shrill of the phone broke into her thoughts. Springing up, she answered it, "Hello?"

"Tsukushi-chan, Miwako. There's a guy here for you," spoke the resident assistant in charge of visitors at the dorm.

"Oh, O.K., I'll be right down." Tsukushi put down the phone, feeling her stomach churn. "Oh, Kami. Tsukasa," she thought, heading out her door to the reception desk at the front entrance to the dorm.

"Hi, Miwako-chan," she said to the RA seated behind the desk. "Hi, Tsukushi-chan," waved the cheerful girl. "He's right over there," she said, pointing to the business suit clad back examining a picture board in the foyer area.

"Thanks," Tsukushi croaked, heart pounding. Swallowing down her heart, which had jumped up to her throat, she approached him. "Wait," she thought, "he isn't big enough to be Tsukasa."

"Ano," she began curiously, her eyes widening as he turned around. "Hiro," she exclaimed. She winced at the black bruise surrounding his right eye.

"Tsukushi." Hiro said, reaching down to hold both her hands. "I need to talk to you."

Tsukushi hesitated which Hiro noted with a grimace. "I know you've been avoiding me and it's my own fault." He squeezed her hands gently. "I came to apologize for what happened Friday."

Biting her lip, Tsukushi gave a slow nod of her head. "Alright."

Relinquishing his clasp, Hiro followed her as she led him back to her room, neither of them saying a word.

She opened her door and stood next to it, letting him precede her in. Hiro glanced about and gave her a small smile. "It doesn't feel as small when there's just you, right?"

Tsukushi gave him a replying smile, albeit cautiously, "Yeah. I miss Ryoko, but it's nice to have the room all to myself." She sat down in the chair next to her desk, bringing her knees up to her chest and hugging them with her arms.

"Tsukushi," Hiro began, sitting down in the chair across from her. "Friday was an insane night. I still don't know who hit me or why," he said, not noticing the slight grimace on Tsukushi's face, "but I went around and apologized to everyone today for the scene. And I know that the person I need to apologize to the most is you."

Tsukushi remained silent and Hiro continued. "I was totally out of line and I bet you're wondering where it all came from." He took a deep breath, "I was jealous." He watched as a strange expression came to Tsukushi's face and gave a small chuckle. "No, not like in a romantic way. It was like…like a brother type thing. I mean, you were always there and…I got used to it."

Hiro fidgeted in his chair, clearly uneasy with this baring of his thoughts. "Life changed, I graduated, got a job. My parents moved out of Tokyo, I got an apartment, all these things, but everything about you stayed the same. I depended on it: Makino Tsukushi, hardworking and dateless, the constant in my life."

Tsukushi grimaced and Hiro gave her a small grin. "I really am sorry, for taking you for granted, for expecting to have a hold on your life and for the things I said," he ended, giving her a hoping smile.

Tsukushi gave small sigh. She understood now his inquisitorial behavior the other night: Hiro had felt insecure. With the rumors that she was seeing someone, especially someone as high-class as Akira, he had felt she would change and had gotten scared.

"I guess I understand," Tsukushi said slowly. "But Hiro, you have to trust me. You're my friend; I need you to be there for whatever choices I make. Emphasis on **I**," she quipped, trying to lighten her words.

Hiro nodded his head sheepishly, "Yeah; who you date and why is your business." His face took on a look of slight displeasure, "I'll even be nice to Mimisaka."

Tsukushi cleared her throat. "Umm, about that." She avoided his eyes, "Actually, we…we broke things off. He's not in my life anymore."

Hiro's face cleared. "Whew, that's a relief." He grinned at the look on her face. "No, I'm not regressing. I did worry about you with Mimisaka. He's a total player and you're a nice, sweet, little virgin," he teased with mischievous glint in his eye.

"Hey," Tsukushi fired, pretending to be offended. She felt relieved that the situation between her and Hiro had been cleared; he was too good a friend for her to lose.

Suddenly her phone rang out; Tsukushi's heart started to pound furiously in her chest.

"Hello," Tsukushi answered breathlessly.

"Tsukushi-chan, there's another guy here for you," spoke the RA from downstairs.

"What?" Tsukushi asked, fear tightening her belly.

"Yeah, you're pretty popular today," the RA teased. "He said he knows you well, so I sent him up already."

Tsukushi froze. "Uh, ok," she managed to gasp. "No problem," the voice replied breezily and clicked off.

Tsukushi sat frozen to her seat, the receiver still at her ear. "What's up?" Hiro questioned, wondering at the expression on her face.

"Nothing!" Tsukushi exclaimed, slamming the phone down. "Kami, what the hell am I going to do?" she thought frantically.

She jumped up as a loud pounding was heard on the door. "Aren't you going to open the door," Hiro asked puzzled as Tsukushi refused to move from her spot.

"Uh, no," Tsukushi said wildly, her mind imagining the bloodshed if she were to open the door. "Don't worry about it. Whoever it is will go away."

As if in response, the hammering became thunderous. "Tsukushi!" Hiro exclaimed, striding forward to answer her door, giving her a weird look in the process.

Tsukushi jumped forward, grabbing onto his elbow, "Hiro, no!"

She was too late; Hiro turned the knob and staggered back as the one insistently trying to enter almost fell on top of him. Tsukushi closed her eyes and prayed for divine intervention.

"Susumu!" Hearing Hiro's cry, Tsukushi's eyes popped open.

"Susumu," she repeated, seeing her brother's familiar form.

"Onee-chan," Susumu cried, eyes wide and imploring, "I need your help!"

Tsukushi was almost dizzy with the relief she felt at the sight of her brother. "So relieved it's not _him_," she thought to herself, clamping down on any other emotions.

"Well, come sit," she said briskly, taking his coat and shoving him down onto her bed.

Hiro sat back down in the chair as Tsukushi bustled around her small room, preparing tea for her now two unexpected guests.

"Hiro-san, hisashiburi-na," Susumu said.

"Yeah, too long. How's school?"

"Ahh!" His cry startled both of them, Tsukushi nearly burning herself as tea splashed from the cup she placed in front of Hiro.

"Susumu," she scolded, thrusting a cup into her younger brother's hands and settling herself next to him. "Stop crying and tell me what's wrong."

"Well there's this girl and then this school trip and Shuuji is going and Akira is going and Shota is going and then they asked if I was going and I was like, but I don't make enough with my job and I can't ask Mom and Dad and then Nobuko said she wanted me to go and I was like…, but it's the last thing we're going to do before studying for university entrance exams begins and I'm like," here he took a deep breath and wailed, "I want to go!"

Hiro tried unsuccessfully to hide his smile while Tsukushi blinked. "Okay," she said slowly. "You want to go on your class trip?" she asked to check if she had understood his narrative correctly.

Susumu nodded his head furiously, eyes open to their fullest extent, beseeching with hope.

"How much do you need?" Tsukushi asked, knowing of course what the root of the problem was.

"It's $30,000," Susumu said eagerly, seeing a ray of light. "I have $1000 saved but I don't think I can come up with the rest."

Tsukushi gave a small sigh. Her parents could not afford that, she thought. "Don't worry, I'll get a part-time job," she replied, patting his knee. "You concentrate on your studies and entrance exams."

"Are you sure its ok? I mean with graduation so close?" Susumu asked, his face a mixture of optimism and despair.

"Susumu, its fine," she said reassuringly. "I'm almost done and a part time job is not going to affect anything," she smiled brightly. "Or at least I hope not," she finished in her head.

Hiro, who had been listening in silence, cleared his throat. "I have an old high school friend who has a restaurant; I could ask if he needs anyone part time." He took his cell phone out of his pocket. "Let me see if I can find him right now," he said, flipping his phone open and punching buttons.

Tsukushi felt a steady gaze directed at her and turned to find her brother looking at her intently. "What?"

"Are you and Hiro-san finally going out?"

"What?" she screeched then cringed when she realized Hiro was talking on his phone. "What," she asked in a much lower tone.

Susumu shrugged, "I don't know. He's the only guy I ever see you with and he's here now, so I thought you guys got together."

Tsukushi hit the back of her brother's head. "Aho, can't we be friends-which is EXACTLY what we are!"

Susumu grimaced. "I guess. But you'll never get a boyfriend that way! Are you even dating anybody?"

Tsukushi looked affronted, "I will have you know that I was too-"

She cut off abruptly, realizing she was about to tell her brother that she had been dating someone. "Uh, anyway, why are you suddenly all over my dating life," she finished gruffly.

"Oh, Mom called. She said if we don't get you married, you'd end up living with me for the rest of my life." He grimaced again, "Onee-chan, you would ruin my style. I have to find you a man."

Tsukushi's eyes bulged. "You little shrimp!" Forgetting Hiro's call, she fell on top of her brother, tickling him. "I would ruin **your** style? What style?" Susumu started howling, squirming under Tsukushi's fingers.

"Hey," they both turned to see Hiro close his phone. "I got you a job!" he said jubilantly. "It's a part time waitress deal and his place is on my way home, so I can take you there from work. Tomorrow evening we have to stop by so he can meet you."

"Thanks Hiro," Tsukushi said appreciatively, straightening up. "Yeah, thanks Hiro-san," Susumu chimed in.

"Don't worry about it." Hiro stood up, "Anyway, Susumu, going back to your dorm? I can drop you off there."

"Oh thanks!" Susumu stood up. "Thanks Onee-chan."

Tsukushi smiled, "You're welcome." She stood and walked them out, shutting the door behind them.

With a sigh, she leaned back against the shut door. "At least another job will keep my mind off…" She sighed again, not finishing the thought.

* * *

Tsukushi went to work the next morning, still somewhat trepidatious(1), only to discover that everything continued to be normal. 

With a sigh, she slumped down into her chair. She propped her elbows on top of her desk and leaned her head against her upraised arms. "What is wrong with me?" she thought wretchedly. She felt absolutely awful, weepy but with no sign of tears. Tiredly, she rubbed her eyes and took a deep breath. The ball of misery ensconced within would just have to be moved; she had a family to take care of and they needed her. Thus, Tsukushi spent her day behind a façade of cheer, listening to Megumi's happy chatter with a distracted air.

The day passed uneventfully and by the end Tsukushi realized that no form of retribution would ever be occurring. Her feelings of gloom increased at this thought, but she quickly suppressed it. "Why should I be upset he's not doing anything? This is what I wanted," she repeated to herself.

As everyone began to pack up their things to leave, she noticed Hiro and Naoki sauntering down towards her.

"What's Naoki-san doing here?" she wondered out loud. She was startled to see Megumi blush slightly. "We're going to dinner," Megumi said, closing the mirror she had been using to freshen her make-up.

Tsukushi smiled at her wanly, surprised, but glad for her.

"Ready Tsukushi?" Hiro asked, leaning on her cubicle wall. Tsukushi snapped her bag closed and stood up. "Yes."

Hiro elbowed Naoki who was staring at Megumi. "Bye, lover. Be good," he teased. Both Naoki and Megumi blushed, unable to look at the other. Tsukushi felt her heart wrench in her chest. "Stop," she told Hiro in a low tone. Grabbing him by the arm, she pulled him towards the exit. "Ignore him and have fun guys," she called back, walking towards the elevator.

Hiro looked down at Tsukushi. "Are you OK?" he asked concerned, as they entered the elevator. Tsukushi nodded her head, not trusting herself to speak. The image of Naoki and Megumi together had created a burning in her breast and Tsukushi felt the unhappiness within her deepen.

Hiro looked wary but was unwilling to question her in front of others in the confines of the elevator.

As they exited the Doumyouji Corp. building towards the garage where Hiro's car was parked, Tsukushi stopped and straightened her head to take in a deep breath of the cold air whipping around them, hoping to cleanse her mood.

"You'll be OK Tsukushi."

Tsukushi turned to see Hiro looking down at her. "You're better off without him."

Tsukushi bit her lip and took another breath, trying to get her determination back. She was starting forward only to stop again as the wind blew her hair in all directions. Feeling eyes upon her, she glimpsed over her shoulder…and stopped breathing. Between the silky strands of her hair blowing about, she saw Tsukasa, standing still, staring at her. Akira, who was standing next to him, nudged him and said something, but they were too far away for Tsukushi to hear.

Tsukasa, without any indication that he had heard Akira, slowly began to walk towards Tsukushi, never moving his eyes from hers.

Hiro, realizing Tsukushi was distracted, followed her gaze to see both Akira and Tsukasa walking towards them. He glanced down at Tsukushi who was staring at the two men; he narrowed his eyes. Squaring his shoulders, Hiro wrapped his arm protectively around Tsukushi; taken aback, she looked up at him. "Let's go-you're going to be late," he said. She nodded her head slowly and let Hiro lead her away.

As they were leaving the sidewalk she turned to gaze behind her. Tsukasa had watched the entire exchange without saying a word, frozen; when she turned back again, he started forward only to watch her hurry away after Hiro.

"Tsukasa," Akira started, worried about the look on his friend's face. Without a word, Tsukasa twisted away from him and stalked off alone.

Tsukushi let Hiro led her to his car in a state of sheer numbness. For the next hour, she mechanically went through motions, meeting Hiro's friend, answering his questions and accepting the job. Somehow she managed to nod her head to his farewells as Hiro dropped her off at her dorm.

Stumbling to her room, Tsukushi sagged down onto her bed as the well of desolation overflowed within her. "I am so stupid," she whispered through numbed lips. The mist in front of her eyes shimmered over as her tears fell. "I destroyed it," she cried, falling forward onto the bed.

She had buried all her emotions because she knew, she _knew_ that she had betrayed him. She lied to him to avoid getting into an argument. A choking sob escaped her. "To avoid an argument when all they did was argue anyway!"

She had wronged him yet had chosen to focus on only his actions, allowing her anger and shame to easily paint him as the sole bad guy when her actions had been just as reprehensible. The guilt that had been ever accumulating, repressed by her mind, had finally flooded within her when she saw the aching expression on his face, _when she had_ _seen_ _on his face,_ how much she had meant to him.

And it was only now, in the total ruin that surrounded her that she finally acknowledged how much, _so infinitely much_, he meant to her.

She wept into her pillow, her sobs echoing through the lonely room.

* * *

And the angst continues….. 

I am so sorry about the updating-but, and I give everyone leave to hold this over my head for faster writing, I finally finished school! Now, to sit down and write!

Was it me or did anyone else think that Susumu was the most cutest thing in the j-drama HYD?

To answer some questions that have popped up:

1. You don't put question marks on the end of your questions.

Thank you for the criticism, I appreciate points any of you might have in helping me better my writing. My writing style is such that I frequently continue character actions outside of quotations which is why there is a lack of ?s and there are no set rules requiring ? (and for some freaky reason, I 3 commas O.O). I'm trying hard to change that!

2. Where are the rest of the F4?

Rui and Soujiro are in America for their respective family companies and will not be making an appearance. I will stop here, though I really want to spill the beans on my future plans!

p.s. for those of you with a taste for spicy HYD, check out a oneshot I wrote. More info on my profile page.

(1) For all those literally adept, please check this absolutely hilarious article I ran across http/itre(dot)cis(dot)upenn(dot)edu/myl/languagelog/archives/001652(dot)html P


	12. In the rain

Disclaimer: I don't own Hana Yori Dango.

* * *

_"Tsukushi? Where are you?" Tsukushi giggled and tried to shrink herself into a smaller ball behind the grove of palm trees hiding her from view. The sun shone down brightly, heating the sand beneath her toes and she could hear the waves crashing against the shore close by. She covered her mouth with her hand, forcing her laughter inside._

_"Tsukushi…Tsukushi," the voice called, tapering off to silence. Concerned, she looked up a bit over the palm leaf. "Gotcha!" shouted a deep voice. With a squeak of surprise, she jumped from her position only to run straight into strong arms that held her tightly._

_Breathless with laughter, she looked up into warm, black, black eyes. "You got me," she admitted. "No," he murmured, "you found me…" as his head descended downwards._

Tsukushi woke up with a start, her throat clogged with tears. Lifting shaking fingers, she grazed her cheek; they came off wet.

With a whimper she buried her face into the pillow, her cries muffled against the yielding softness.

* * *

"So Tsukushi-chan, I have to tell you what he did last night!" 

Tsukushi turned dull eyes towards Megumi. It was now a week after she had started working in Kin-san's restaurant. A week since she had broken down with the realization that her actions had led to the fight with Tsukasa. A week since she had seen him.

"Tell me," Tsukushi said, mentally cringing.

"Well," Megumi started, placing her mug down on her desk and preparing for some intense gossiping. "Apparently, he left early again yesterday and went straight to a bar. I heard he emptied out bottles, they were sitting all around him and he just kept going. Sometime after the third one, the fighting started." Tsukushi tuned out her chatter, unable to stomach any more.

In the week that had followed her last glance of him, Doumyouji Tsukasa had gone berserk. D. Corp. was abuzz with whispers of the heir's brutal fighting; long time employees merely shrugged their shoulders and said this was a repeat of his behavior as a kid. So far as yet, no charges had been pressed against him and the lesson was driven home yet again: with money, anything could be hushed up, even homicidal brawling.

People were feeding off this, the tabloid articles brought in and devoured in the very building that held his name. Speculation ran rampant regarding every aspect of his life and they watched with obscene eagerness for the fall of the mighty Doumyouji Tsukasa. She heard the whispers constantly, could feel them crawling over her flesh like insects, disgusting her to the point of illness.

With a choked gasp, she turned away from Megumi's artless recitation. She buried her face in her shaking hands.

"Tsukushi-chan?" She was unable to respond, her only thoughts focused on breathing, that breathing would overcome the misery spreading throughout her chest.

A warm hand touched her shoulder. "Are you worried about your brother?" Megumi asked anxiously. Tsukushi nodded and removed her hands, her fingers surreptitiously wiping her wet eyes.

"Mmm," Tsukushi nodded her head. She smiled tiredly, "I guess working two jobs has me a bit tired."

Fluttering with concern, Megumi insisted she drink a cup of green tea and hurried to brew it. Tsukushi gave a deep sigh. _Breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out…

* * *

_

It was bitterly cold as Tsukushi made her way to the dorms from the train stop later that night. Her part-time job at the restaurant went quickly and smoothly. Hiro's friend Amakusa Seinosuke was a genuinely nice, stable guy; in fact, he reminded her so much of a TV character with the same characteristics that she had taken to calling him by the character's name, Kin-san. But even with all of Kin-san's kindness and support, Tsukushi just barely made it through the nights, her mind a seething, chaotic mess of dark thoughts and sadness.

"Tsukushi."

Tsukushi whirled around, breath caught in her chest, eyes widely dilated. A tall figure emerged from the shadows near the entrance to the train station. When she recognized the form, Tsukushi stifled an oath. "Akira," she said, turning away from him.

"I want to talk to you," he bit out, quickly catching up to her.

"About what?" she asked dejectedly, not bothering to glance at him.

Akira exploded "About what? About Tsukasa!" He ran a critical eye of her. "You look as awful as he does! What is wrong with the two of you?" He waved his arms wide, "You two had a fight-so does everyone else in the world. Get the fuck over it!"

"It's not that easy," she muttered.

"What's not easy? To admit that you were wrong? Both of you are too damn stubborn!" he shouted. He thrust his hand through his hair in agitation; Tsukushi had never seen him like this, desperate with worry and quite unlike his cool self.

She gave a troubled sigh, "Akira, I can't do it. We don't belong together; it's better to have it end now. I don't fit it in with your world and I never will."

"Then just stay with him till it ends!" He turned pleading eyes on her. "He's killing himself or he will someone else! Stay with him, pretend." Akira spread out a hand, as if coaxing her to his plan. "It won't be hard. He put you on a pedestal, did you know? He thought of you in a way I've never seen him do before."

She paused in her steps and turned to look at him fully. "What if that's not what I want?"

Akira gazed down at her, silent for so long that Tsukushi thought he wouldn't answer; she was mistaken. With a sigh, he said, "Then stay away from him, Tsukushi." He turned around, leaving her standing alone. "Stay far away from him."

* * *

Once again the rhythm picked up: wake up, hover on a train chock full of humanity agonizingly ignoring each other, try to work as unobtrusively as possible, try to avoid situations involving interaction, try to avoid feeling, and especially the pain that accompanied the breath of his name. 

Tsukushi gave a shuddering sigh, letting her mask fall. It was now the end of the third week since that night and Tsukushi acknowledged to herself that she was coming apart at the seams. Steadily, day-by-day she was unraveling and trying hard, _so hard_, to cover it up, which in fact only worsened things. Bending her head, she slowly packed up her things and got up to leave for Kin-san's restaurant.

As she rode down the elevator, sights unseen, she thought of days past and how something once done could not be undone. "But you can fix it," her mind whispered. _Go_ _to him_. Possibilities sprang to her mind, surprising even herself with their abundance, half formed thoughts of plans and futures.

She shook her head. "For what purpose; at the end, we can only be separated, by his status, by my class, by fate." But her practicality did little to lessen the despair within her and as she left the warmth of the building to face the gray, chilly outside, Tsukushi could almost hardly bear it. Bitter coldness, the stark nudity of the trees, the sheer monotony of the world engulfed her, finding the matching desolation within her. Choking, she flailed against the rising tide of tears surging, the sheer barrenness of her days overwhelming her carefully constructed defenses. Dropping her bag, she buried her face in her scarf and stood still amongst the wave of employees around her leaving for home.

"Tsukushi?" She heard a tentative voice ask. Lifting her tear-streaked face, she saw Hiro hovering over her, an anxious look over his face. At seeing her face, he gave a deep sigh. "Oh, Tsukushi," he whispered, his large hand clasping her frozen cheek in a warm grasp.

Tsukushi took in a wavering breath. "Hiro, its nothing…I'm fine-"

"Shh," he interrupted. Leaning over her, he pressed his lips to her other cheek. "You can do this Makino Tsukushi." Tsukushi closed her eyes for one moment, praying he spoke the truth.

* * *

The light spattering of drizzle began early in the evening; people began leaving the restaurants and bars early, shivering in the unexpected, freezing rain as they called it an early night. A lone figure unaware of the exodus around him, remained in the dark shadows at the far end of the wooden bar. He sat, staring blankly into the space before him. The scene repeated before his eyes, again and again: her standing still, her friend caressing her cheek and then bending towards her to kiss her. The pain that had clenched his body, pain such that he had never felt in his violent, bruised life, dug its jagged claws through him. 

Tsukasa lifted a hand to his forehead. "What was this misery that nothing could cure? Why the pain-why did it hurt so Goddamn much? Where was the anger?"

Anger. It was an emotion he knew, intimately. It was an old friend who had found him as a child and had never left. At first it had been a means of attracting attention, of forcing others, _the servants, other children, his parents_, to realize that he was there, in their world. As the years passed and he became deadened from the outside in, the only spark of emotion he felt was anger. As long as the anger filled him and rage fueled his fists, as long people lay before him bleeding and in agony, he knew he was alive and part of this world.

_Until her._

And now all that he felt was pain; pain, that could be diminished by alcohol and anger and by his bloodied hands, only to return again tenfold as excruciating as before.

_Until today._

He lifted his head up, his eyes slowly focusing on his surroundings. Before him stood a tall glass filled with amber liquid. With a sneer, he took the glass and hurled it to the ground. Ignoring the bartender's cries, he stormed out, the glass tinkling beneath the soles of his shoes.

* * *

Tsukushi changed from her wet clothes into a dry pair of shorts and a shirt. It was pitch black outside with sheets of rain pouring down from the sky, drumming heavily across her windows. 

Her cell phone rang and she fumbled through her bag trying to locate it. Grasping its vibrating case, Tsukushi opened it. "Hello," she said with a quiet sigh, too tired to work up any enthusiasm for her caller.

Harsh breathing filled her ears, along with the magnified sound of the rain.

"Hello?" she whispered, her heart beating faster. No response.

She carefully took the phone from her ear to look at its crystal screen.

_Doumyouji Tsukasa._

With a muted cry she jammed the phone back to her ear. "Where are you?" she whispered, her words choking. Still no response came.

Blood pounded heavily through her ears and she sprang up, her phone still pressed tightly against her. Her own breathing now erratic, she raced down the stairs, down the dimly lit halls, towards the darkened entrance. She thrust open the door with a bang and came to a halt underneath the awning over the door.

He stood before her, in his business suit, sodden with rain, his phone against his ear.

Tsukushi dropped her hand, devouring him with widened eyes. "Tsuk-"

"Do you know," he began almost conversationally, "what it is to live everyday not for yourself, but for the name you were born with?" He closed his phone and thrust it into his pants pocket, towering above her in the rain, immediately outside the shelter of the awning. "Since I've been born I have been taught to be a Doumyouji. That the world was built for me, that I could command legions of men to do what I want, when I want."

"So I didn't have a life." He gave a negligent shrug and Tsukushi's heart almost broke from the concealed emotion of the movement. _Sadness, regret, resignation._ "I got over it."

"And lost so much of yourself in the process," Tsukushi thought in despair, but unable to speak.

"And then I met you.At first you were this stupid girl but who had the balls to kick me when I could have snapped you in half, just like that," he emphasized with a flick of his fingers. A splash of rain hit her in the face and Tsukushi flinched.

"You defied me and I needed to take you down. You were nothing, middle-class trash like all the rest. But for once, I couldn't be stopped," Tsukasa stopped, swallowing thickly. "You were as strong as I was and I couldn't" he paused then said disjointedly. "Then it changed, you filled my mind. Every inch of it. Every hour of everyday I would think of you and think…and hope. You made me hope-made me feel alive," he said, his eyes burning with an inner fire.

Tsukushi breathed, "I-"

He slashed his hand violently through the air, scaring her silent with the barely restrained ferocity of his movement.

"I was filled with almost indescribable happiness. Goddamnit I can't even explain but it was there in my mind when I thought of you. This feeling I never had before. It was there when I woke up and realized you were here in this world; during my day when I thought, I can see her tonight, that in a few hours I can hear her voice. Then, there you were and I felt, I felt all those things together-" he stopped. "Do you know?" he pleaded roughly. "Do you know what it was?"

"Joy," she whispered brokenly. The rain poured down onto him, wet rivers coursing down his face and body unbroken to the concrete below.

"Joy," he repeated dumbly. Suddenly his face twisted, "Joy," he sneered, "Yes, joy. I knew joy, fucking my heart was drowning it! And then without any warning, you ripped it out of me-you took it all away." He started pacing angrily, breathing heavily as would a beast driven mad with grief and pain.

He stopped to stare straight into her eyes, "You ripped my heart of out my chest and fucking fed it to me. You whom I trusted, as I trusted _no other woman_-lied to me, _betrayed me_," he all but howled in anguish.

"But still I was going to take you back, pay anyone any price to get you back. And then I saw you with Hiro today." Here he faltered, "You, you let him kiss you..." he swallowed, then said hoarsely, "You let him kiss you in front of me." Tsukushi shook her head in horrified denial but he didn't notice. "And I…I…" He couldn't continue then gave a bitter laugh, one that wrapped Tsukushi's heart in ice. "You warped me. Me, the great Doumyouji Tsukasa!" He thrust his hand against his face and his laughter ended in an agonized gasp. Lifting his head, he looked at her with a twisted smile to his lips, one that had her throbbing with hurt.

"Congratulations," he mocked. "You, middle-class trash have succeeded where many others have failed: you have brought down Doumyouji Tsukasa." He reached out long fingers in a movement Tsukushi knew well. She stood still, heart clenched, as his fingers came forward as if to flick her nose. With huge eyes she saw his fingers tremble as they came near her face, saw his fingers spread out as if to touch her cheek. A mere whisper away from her face, they stopped and Tsukushi stifled a sob deep in her throat.

Then he brought his hand back down and bent his head in defeat. With no more words, not even a look, he turned and walked away from her. Walked away as she stood there, silent tears running down her face.

_I was worried about you…be with me…I like you…joy…_Tsukushi watched him walk away in the rain, his back, his broad back, become smaller…_it will disappear_…_ he will disappear from your life_…_joy_…_you filled me with joy_…_And you will never see him again_…_never again_.

_No._

"Tsukasa," she screamed, running into the blackened rain. "Tsukasa!"

He stopped, not turning around, while she ran until she reached him, a hairs breadth separating them. "Tsukasa…don't," she sobbed, "don't go." She closed the gap between them and clung onto him tightly, for himself, for herself, her tears melting into his rain-soaked back.

"It was a mistake…and then my pride and my fear…" she hesitated as he turned around. Bending her head, she gentlytook his hands within her own and almost reverently brought them up to her face. As she watched, her face cupped within his large, warm hands, the pain in his eyes slowly eased and her heart lurched unbearably. _I can't lose_ _him!_

She whispered up to him, forcing him to bend closer to hear her words, "Don't go. Stay here…with me. Tonight."

* * *

spoiler warning 

In the manga, the scene where Tsukushi leaves Tsukasa in the rain was to me, the most heart breaking moment in the series and one of the moments that truly defined Tsukushi's character.

I thought it a tribute for them to find each other in the rain this time.


	13. Sleepover

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Yori Dango, nor its characters (my therapist told me to say it).

* * *

She led him through the rain, her hand clasped tightly around his, to the door of her dorm. As they neared the door, she stopped briefly to pick up the cell phone that she had dropped in her rush to prevent him from leaving. 

Tsukushi pulled her ID card from her back pocket and slid it into the security box. When it flashed green, she gave him a silent glance and opened the door, walking inside with Tsukasa behind her.

Quietly, they made their way through the darkened corridors with their colorful posters adorning the walls. With the inclement weather, it was unusually calm in her dorm and they didn't see anyone, for which Tsukushi was grateful.

Once in her room, she let go of his hand to face him. He was examining her room, going over her bed and other belongings before settling his gaze onto her.

"Where is she?" he asked, jerking his head in the direction of her former roommate's pristine bed.

Tsukushi swallowed. His presence dwarfed her room, creating an alien atmosphere in a place she considered home. "She's studying abroad. I'm the only one in this room."

She cleared her throat, "You're completely soaked. Go take a hot shower before you get sick," she said, going to her closet.

He raised a brow at her. "I don't have any extra clothes." She came back to him and thrust a towel and a pair of blue gym shorts into his hands.

"They're my brother's. They're small, but…" she faltered, unable to complete her sentence.

Tsukasa nodded and followed her as she led him to the side door of her connected bathroom. Since she shared the bathroom with the girls in the suite on the opposite side, she made certain the door was locked before turning on the shower. After adjusting the temperature, she turned back to him.

"Leave your clothes. I'll hang them up to dry."

She was surprised when he thrust some items into her hands. Looking down, she saw his wallet, keys and cell phone. Feeling stifled by the sudden awkwardness between them, she abruptly left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Placing his things on her dresser, she stripped out of her own wet clothing and changed. She had gotten wet, but nowhere near the drenching Tsukasa suffered. She wondered how long he had stood in the rain.

Tsukushi collapsed into the chair beside her bed. The sheer force of the emotions that had surrounded them still reverberated through her.

"That was so close," she thought. "But, this is right," she whispered, "this is right."

She took a deep breath and straightened her spine. He was here now, where she wanted him to be. The last few weeks of misery had shown her that, regardless of reason, she felt for him. She felt for him to depths she had never before experienced. The ghastly, wrenching fear that had crushed her when Tsukasa had turned to walk away had been amplified by the fact that she had behaved cowardly. It had been her apprehension of their differences that had kept her from going to him before, her belief that for all sorts of reasons, they just wouldn't work.

Tsukushi was broken out of her thoughts by the sound of the shower being shut off.

Her eyes widened as she saw him emerge from the bathroom and her heart rate sped up.

Tsukasa gave her a dirty look. "What is your brother, a shrimp?" he asked with a grimace, attempting to stretch the pathetically short shorts over his much longer frame.

Tsukushi let out smothered laugh, as, still grumping, he dropped his wet clothes onto her desk and sprawled down on her bed. Bare-naked chest came within inches of her face and she felt her face flame red. His sudden proximity unnerved her and Tsukushi jumped up.

"You sit down and dry your hair. I'll just go hang your clothes," she babbled. Grabbing his clothes and a hanger from her closer, she fled into the bathroom.

"Kami, he's half-naked," she thought wildly. She felt a full-blown nest of butterflies tumbling in her belly, as unbidden, a picture of him half-naked came back to her. Biting her lip, she absently hung his dripping clothes onto the shower bar. He looked bigger without his clothes, his shoulders broader somehow.

She came back into room and hesitantly walked around as he rubbed at his hair with the towel.

"Why is your face so red?" she heard him ask.

"Well, what do you expect?" she replied, exasperated both at herself for being so uncomfortable and at him for being so paradoxically nonchalant. "You're sitting there half-naked!"

He raised a brow. "You're the one who told me to take a shower," he stated, and took the towel off his head.

She was so silent that he glanced up at her.

"What?" he asked, noticing her bemused expression.

"Your hair is straight," she said wonderingly.

"Oh yeah," he said, running a hand through his wet locks. Straight, it was much longer than she had suspected, hanging down nearly to his chin. "Doesn't your hair get straighter when it's wet?"

"Yeah, but…wow, it looks so different on you," she said admiringly.

He grunted and tossed the towel across the room onto the other bed.

Tsukushi sat nervously on the chair next to the bed, wringing her fingers, watching him as he silently grabbed his phone from her desk and shut it off. The air between them was as constrained as it had been earlier, clearly evidenced by their self-conscious comments to each other. Mentally she sighed, knowing what she had to do. "I-"

"Are you with Hiro?" he interrupted quietly.

"What?" She looked up, startled and found him looking at the ground, refusing to meet her eyes. Tsukushi felt her heart squeeze.

"No," she said softly. "We're just friends. That night-" she paused, then continued. "That night it was a group of us…we weren't on a date."

"And today?"

Tsukushi swallowed thickly, her throat seemed to be clogged. "He was only comforting me. I've been…" she looked up at him and found him watching her, "miserable lately."

He didn't say anything, merely watched her with an inscrutable look.

She sighed. "Be brave, Tsukushi," a voice in her head called out. "You're a weed, remember!"

"I was scared. We are _so_ different," she stopped, feeling her eyes prickling with tears. A million thoughts ran through her head, a million reasons why this would _never_ work.

"So?" he said arrogantly.

Tsukushi gave a watery scoff.

"I mean it," he said, grasping her fingers within his hands. "I don't care about anything else. Why should I? What does any of it matter in my being with you?" As he talked, he lightly rubbed his thumbs over the tips of her fingers.

She breathed deeply, "Tsukasa, that's too simple of a view to take."

His hand came up to cradle her face, hard fingers smoothing gently over her cheek. "I love you," he said gruffly. "And now, I won't ever let you go."

Tsukushi felt a tightly wound space inside of her release. He stared down into her eyes, but Tsukushi didn't see him, lost in her thoughts of what had happened outside.

She never wanted to be there again.

She never wanted to go back to that place in the rain.

With a strangled sob, Tsukushi fell into his arms, into his strong, warm embrace. He hugged her closely to him, burying his face against her hair. "Wherever you go, I will follow," he whispered. "My life is dead without you."

"Stay over," she murmured, unwilling to separate herself from him so soon.

"I thought I was," he answered, lying back in her bed, taking her with him. She reached out and flicked off her desk light, shrouding the room in darkness.

They lay holding each other close, listening to the rain and the sound of each other's hearts beating steadily.

* * *

Tsukushi grimaced as a strange pounding kept hammering through her sleep. With a muffled snort, she tried to snuggle deeper into her bed but was met with a warm rock. A warm rock that enveloped her tighter into its relaxing heat; Tsukushi gave a small hum of pleasure and didn't hear the _snick_ of the door being opened. 

"Nee-chan, wake up! You're being attacked!"

"What the f-" Tsukushi's eyes snapped open. With a yelp, she shoved with all her might against the foreign intrusion in her bed, flying back against the wall. In a tangle of sheets and wild oaths, the body went down to the ground.

"Makino, you lunatic! It's me!" came a bellow from the ground.

Tsukushi looked wildly around her: Susumu stood above her bed, eyes bugging out from his head, while Tsukasa sat on the floor, rubbing his head and glaring at her.

"What the hell? You let just anyone come in here?" he yelled at her. "Who the hell is this strange kid?"

"Nee-chan, you let strange boys sleep with you? What kind of a dorm is this?"

"Hey, I was going say that!"

Tsukushi gave a groan. "Only to me; this stuff only happens to me!" she thought.

"Susumu, how did you get in here?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. She hadn't slept that well for some time and was still groggy.

"The RA remembered me from before and let me up." He looked warily at Tsukasa who had stood up to tower over him menacingly.

"Tsukasa, this is my younger brother Susumu," she said crawling off the bed. "Susumu, um, I asked Tsukasa to stay over." She started blushing at the disbelieving look her brother shot her. "I mean, he's not attacking me or anything," she finished lamely.

"Onee-chan." Susumu was staring up at Tsukushi with enormous, wondering eyes. "Does this mean you _finally_ have a boyfriend?"

They both looked at her, while she blushed even redder, "Tsukasa," she paused then started again, "Tsukasa is…" "They were both looking at her as if she were a performing seal," she thought crossly.

"My boyfriend," she spurted out.

Susumu looked eagerly up at the manically grinning Tsukasa, "Onii-san!"

"Yeah!"

"Hmph!" Tsukushi grumbled.

* * *

A/N: And I bet you guys were thinking something ecchi would happen +wags finger+ This is a PG fic! XD 

Well, looks like they managed to fix themselves! (finally right?). I know this chapter is a bit anticlimactic, but reasonably I couldn't have them move any faster or else it would have been wildly OOC. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the reviews and comments! I really do feel bad that I'm such a slacker, but to my credit I did post another ecchi oneshot (very dark though, beware!).

ps: did anyone else read the yomikiri? I won't ruin it for anyone who hasn't, but…(sighs)…I _love_ HYD.


	14. And the seasons

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Yori Dango, nor its characters. (Stupid therapist! Denial _is_ healthy!!)

* * *

Tsukushi walked from the train station Monday morning, her bag swinging through the cool, crisp air. The sun was shining, a gentle wind breezing around her, creating a rosy glow along her cheeks as she headed for the familiar tower of steel and glass.

A grin stole over her face as, unbidden, memories of the weekend sprang to her mind. Tsukasa and Susumu had decided that they needed to bond and Tsukushi was aghast to learn that they had chosen to do it at her part-time job at Kin-san's restaurant, Susumu having filled Tsukasa in on the details regarding her second job. He had lectured her non-stop on too much job stress and a heavy workload until they got to the restaurant. And met Kin-san. And developed an instantaneous, unyielding dislike for the genial fellow, which, to Tsukushi's amazement, turned out to be mutual. In the end, poor Susumu spent most of the day ducking from the various insults Tsukasa threw Kin-san, while Kin-san threw back more polite versions.

Tsukasa had dropped her off at her dorm, informing her that they would also be spending the next day together, without Susumu and her annoying "chief" boss. The next morning, as Tsukushi had walked down the stairs to where Tsukasa was waiting for her in the dorm foyer, she heard clusters of excited whispers. Curious, she had hurried her steps to find many of her dorm mates squealing over Tsukasa. Dressed in jeans, shirt with blazer and a skull cap on his head, he looked like a college kid: a very handsome, inpatient college kid. As soon as he had seen Tsukushi, he had grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out as she had teased him for being embarrassed by the girls' blatant interest.

They had spent the day at the amusement park, (her choice) and then a five star French restaurant at night (his choice). Tsukushi had an absolute blast, as they easily fell back into their previous pattern. Bicker, fight, throw verbal taunts at each other…she had more fun that night than the whole of the month. And for all that he yelled at her, she knew Tsukasa felt the same, as she caught the delighted grin on his face each time he wasn't looking.

Tsukushi entered the D. Corp. building, heading for her floor on autopilot, her thoughts focused on how wonderful she felt. "You are in serious trouble, Makino," she muttered to herself as the elevator stopped on her floor and she stepped out onto her floor. "This crazy over a rich brat like Doumyouji Tsukasa? At least Susumu had no idea who he was. I do not want to _think_ of what will happen if Mama and Papa find out," she thought, placing her bag down on her cubicle desk. But even thoughts of her avaricious parents could not suppress the smile on her face.

Megumi saw her and came over to her cubicle. "Wow, someone looks very bright this morning," she commented.

Tsukushi grinned, "I just feel great."

Megumi nodded sagely. "I've been putting Korean Ginseng in your tea. It must be kicking in," she said as she laid a steaming mug in front of her.

Tsukushi shook her head, "Oh, if you only knew," she thought, hiding her smile.

"So, Tsukushi-chan, it seems that the Junior Boss calmed down," Megumi said, leaning against Tsukushi's cubicle wall.

Tsukushi took a sip of the tea, "Junior Boss?"

"Doumyouji-san," Megumi explained. "It seems nothing happened this weekend. I think his mother threatened him something awful."

Tsukushi grinned at her again. "Maybe he worked out whatever that was bothering him."

Megumi scoffed, "Him? You're telling me that Doumyouji Tsukasa has problems like the rest of us?" She shook her head skeptically and went back to her cubicle.

"Yeah, imagine that," Tsukushi whispered to herself.

* * *

About an hour passed and Tsukushi became so engrossed in her current project that she barely registered her name being called.

"Makino-san?"

Tsukushi looked up to see one of the Accounting Managers beckoning to her.

"Hai," she said promptly, leaving her desk to the offices in the back. He gestured for her to precede him into his office and shut the door. Tsukushi looked at him curiously, but he merely motioned for her to sit in one of the chairs across from his desk.

"Makino-san," he began, sitting very straight in his chair, hands folded on his desk. Tsukushi felt a sliver of trepidation at his serious and extremely business-like attitude.

"Calm down," she told herself, "you haven't done anything wrong…. I think."

"Makino-san," began her manager. His posture was formal, arms crossed on his desk and Tsukushi imitated him, sitting ramrod stiff in her chair. "Your time with us here is coming to an end."

Tsukushi bowed her head. "Hai," she replied. "I want to thank you for such a valuable learning experience." And indeed it had been: she had learned more the short time that she had been interning than in her years at school.

Motokare-san beamed at her. "It's been a pleasure to have you. Actually, the other managers and I have discussed your situation. Your work here is excellent as well as your grades at Tokyo University." He cleared his throat and if possible, looked even more serious.

Tsukushi felt a ball of dread coalesce in her belly. "There's a 'but' coming…" she was unable to suppress the wretched thought.

"We would be honored, Makino-san, if you considered an offer to join Doumyouji Corporation as an Assistant Manager here in Accounting," he said bowing deeply over his desk.

She sat immobile, dazed by what had just been offered to her. Even though one of the primary purposes of her internship was job placement, she was still shocked that it had actually happened. "Kami-sama, this was one of my dreams," she contemplated nostalgically. "To _finally_ be able to be independent. And not broke."

She thought then, of the years of struggle and hardship. Of the many days and nights she had worried over her grades, her family. Tsukushi sighed. In reality, she knew that she was merely changing one set of worries for another, but still, to have reached what she had wanted for so long…

Tsukushi took a deep breath. "Sir, it is my honor to accept," she said, returning his bow.

* * *

As Tsukushi closed the manager's office door, she saw that most of the others had left for lunch already. She went to her desk to check for any messages and found none. Replacing the phone in its cradle, she turned to leave for lunch when she saw a familiar figure coming towards her.

"Mimisaka-san," she said, smiling tentatively. She knew Tsukasa had told him about them, but she wasn't sure if Akira held any bad feelings against her. After all, the last time she had seen him, she had pretty much sworn off seeing Doumyouji Tsukasa ever again.

He strolled up to her, hands in his pockets, the look in his light eyes solemn.

"So, Tsukasa told me the news," he began.

Tsukushi bit her lip. "And?" she asked, unable to read his expression.

"I think both of you are crazy-to make such a big deal over a silly argument. That's the problem with virgins: too hormonal to think straight." he said, clucking his tongue in mock sadness.

Tsukushi rolled her eyes.

His demeanor changed, becoming serious. "It will be hard," Akira said, the amusement in his eyes fading. "I understand your reasons more than you think, but…" he paused a moment. "Tsukasa is too stubborn," he finished with a rueful grin. "Anyway, you're stuck now," Akira drawled, "but are you sure you know what you're doing?"

She gave him a direct gaze. "No," she said gently. "But, I can't…" she trailed off, remembering Tsukasa's face through the pouring rain, what had been written in his eyes. _In that place…in the rain._ She shuddered a bit.

"I can't go through that again," she said, straightening her spine. "I won't be a coward and run from things even before they begin." She looked up at him, "But that's not to say I don't need help. Because he--_we_ need you Mimisaka-san."

"Of course you do," he scoffed arrogantly.

Tsukushi smiled at the return of his unmitigated confidence. "But underneath, is a depth of friendship and trust that no one could ever break," she thought, fondly. Aloud she said, "Thank you, Mimisaka-san. We wouldn't even be this far without you."

"You're too good for him," he said, sauntering away. "But at least he can make up for it by providing the looks and the money in your relationship."

"Hey!" Tsukushi shouted, but he was already entering the elevators and merely waved back. She shook her head wryly.

* * *

Tsukushi walked through the floor, a plastic bag in hand, heading straight between the desks to his office. Having made her decision to be with Tsukasa, she refused to let their relationship be a secret that they had to hide. She had to face her fear head on, she thought, her grip on the bag tightening.

Yet as she reached his door, she couldn't help but feel immense relief that Hiro was absent. She was going to have to explain everything, but at least not today. With a light knock, she opened the door to see Tsukasa by the floor length windows comprising one entire side of his office.

"Well, I don't care what I said last week. I told you what I want this week and that's _exactly_ what I expect to see on Friday." He turned from his study of downtown Tokyo and saw her by the door.

"I have to go," he ended abruptly, pulling out his mobile earpiece and tossing it onto his desk.

She quietly shut the door behind her.

"Did you get my message last night?" he inquired, striding to a halt right in front of her. He was in his shirtsleeves, his curls a bit ruffled as if he had been running his hand through them. She noticed the lines of fatigue on his face.

"I did. Actually, um," she hesitated. "Oh Kami, what was I thinking," she mentally cringed, hiding her bag behind her.

But Tsukasa heard the rustling and peered around her to investigate. "What's that? Is it for me?"

"It's a bento," she said, as he grabbed the bag from her hands and drew out the colored box. "Just something to keep you going since you will have to work late tonight," she finished hurriedly. He stood still for a long time, so long that Tsukushi felt herself flush.

"If you don't want it, I'll throw it out," she said, trying to pry the box from his hand.

"No. I want it, you made it for me," he replied, as if that explained everything.

"Oh, well. I have one for me too. Do you want to eat together?" she asked tentatively.

He looked down at her. Suddenly, she found herself being kissed by him.

"You are _so_ cute." He grinned at her red face and sat down on the floor space between his desk and the door, gently tugging her down along with him.

"Baka," she grumbled. She handed him a pair of chopsticks as he perused the contents of his bento intently.

"What's this?"

Tsukushi looked up to see Tsukasa holding a piece of shrimp imperiously. "It's shrimp."

His brows raised so high they almost hit his hair. "This is shrimp? It's so puny and…," he waved it a bit in front of him then popped it in his mouth. "OK," he said in blank surprise.

Tsukushi snorted, "Shocked that common food is not all that bad?"

He gave her an evil look, "Well, you're common and I put up with you. Might as well get used to the food you cook."

She scowled at him, "Keep it up and I'm taking it back." She almost laughed aloud at the alarmed look on his face.

"No!" he said, shielding his bento with upper body. "You gave it to me, you can't take it back! You'd be an Italian giver!"

"That's Indian giver, aho! And I don't want it back," Tsukushi replied, rolling her eyes at his childish antics. "Scion of one of the most powerful families in Japan and he's scared I'll steal his bento," she thought with some incredulity.

They began working on their bentos, a companionable silence between them.

"You have a big project?" she asked, munching on some salad.

"No," he grumbled. The slight red that appeared in his face took her aback. "I have more work now since the last three weeks I wasn't really doing that much."

"Ah," she smirked.

"Shut up! It was your fault," he complained.

"Ohh, poor Tsukasa! Well, I'm feeding you to pay for it," she teased and fished an unagi roll off her box. "See, I'm even willing to part with my food to make you feel better." Beaming widely, she extended her chopsticks, with the unagi roll in between.

Tsukasa smirked at her. "You can't resist me," he said in a satisfied tone, and grabbed her hand to lead her chopsticks to his mouth.

"I have some news I have to tell you," she began gently as his mouth closed over the roll, his face inches from her own.

"Doumyouji-san, I found the spreadsheets with the…." The door opened so suddenly that Tsukasa's hand was still on hers, her chopsticks hanging between them as they both turned to the interruption.

Hiro stood there, arrested at the sight before him. Tsukushi pulled her hand from Tsukasa's grasp.

"Hiro," she breathed.

His eyes widened. "Uh, I'm sorry." He looked uncomprehending, as if his vision had somehow conjured the image before him. "Um…I guess…uh. Excuse me," he finally stuttered, backing out rapidly. The door closed with a bang.

"Hiro!" Tsukushi exclaimed and started up.

Only to find herself pulled back by a grip on her arm. She turned back to see Tsukasa's hand on her arm, his head bowed over the floor, not looking at her.

"Don't go. Don't go after him."

Tsukushi's gaze softened. "Tsukasa," she lifted his head up to meet her eyes. "He's my friend-I never told him what was happening. I have to go to him now."

"Please," she started, running her hand over his, "please believe in me." She bent over and kissed him, softly, tenderly. His lips clung to hers as she moved away.

Tsukushi felt the ironclad grip on her arm release, though the look in his eyes didn't change. "Come back soon, or your food will get cold." He watched as she left him, heading for the door.

"Baka, it's a bento," she called back, hurriedly leaving the room. The door closed quietly after her.

After a few moments, Tsukasa picked up a piece of tamago from his bento between his chopsticks and examined it. "I am so whipped," he told the egg.

* * *

A/N:

Some translations:

bentosimilar to a lunchbox

unagieel

tamagoegg


	15. change

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Yori Dango, nor its characters.

* * *

Tsukushi stood just outside the train station, her face turned up to the gentle rays of the sun. 

It was a gorgeous day, a culmination of a week of restful breezes and temperate climes. A clean scent was streaming throughout Tokyo, one reminiscent of childhood days and carefree times, a light fragrance of burgeoning flowers and new grass. As Tsukushi waited, warm, golden rays burned through her, reaching down into the very depths of her with fulfilling brightness.

"I won't let him down," she thought as she stood beneath the bright blue sky, her eyes closed. "I will be with him regardless of the consequences."

She was Tsukushi, the weed, and in the end it was all she knew how to be. Everyday, she woke up trying to live the best possible way she could. She took care of herself, her family and her friends: she could only move forward, on her own path.

"Tsukushi!"

She opened her eyes as the crowd of office workers exiting the station surged around her. Some turned to look back at the tall, broad-shouldered man cutting his way towards the petite girl smiling at him. From where she was, Tsukushi could see some people clustering together, pointing in their direction.

She ignored them and instead, turned her gaze to watch him come towards her, determination and more than a bit of ruthlessness etched into his face. He infuriated her, drove her crazy and would never be the knight in shining armor that she had dreamed of.

"Well, this isn't a manga," she thought with a grin. She saw his face become alarmed as he came closer to her.

"Tsukushi! What are you wearing?!" Tsukasa asked, scandalized.

Tsukushi looked down at the short, apple-green dress she had worn to work then looked back at his shocked expression. Giving him a brilliant smile, she leaned up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Haven't you noticed? It's spring."

fin

* * *

A/N: 

I am truly amazed by the response to this fanfic and have been so gratified that people had as much fun reading this as I did writing it. HYD is a small fandom, but it's such a great community and I really thank you for your encouragement and support.

This was a marvelous experience, especially in terms of my (hopefully!) improvements in writing, in providing characterizations and dialogue. I read and noted every comment and my deepest appreciation to you for responding along the way. If you have any comments that you would like a reply to or if you feel the need for a chat, please feel free to visit my lj page (the link is on my profile) and leave a note.

Since updates have been agonizingly slow for me, I have come to the decision that for my future long-term projects, I will not be posting until at least eighty percent of the entire story is done. Which pretty much means that the sequel to Winter in Tokyo will not be in the immediate future.

But, yes, there will be a sequel! Rui and Soujiro have to come back, right? I mean you can't have a real HYD fanfic without the complete F4. And of course, of course, there is Tsukasa and Tsukushi.

This story started from a random thought of what their meeting might have been like if they had been older and the shadow of Eitoku was not over their heads. For that purpose, this fanfic is done, but their story is still not yet complete (for me anyway!) and we will have to see if they truly can be together.

So thank you all for this wonderful ride-it's taken two years to the day, but I hope you enjoyed it (more than you wanted to strangle me!).

SuKiSs


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